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Those workers that remain in coastal cities like Dongguan, whose sprawl of tile-roof factories belch into a jaundiced sky, are demanding higher wages — and getting their voices heard. Minimum wages are on the rise as authorities respond to the labor shortage, setting a new floor for private employers. This pressure on factory payrolls, coupled with rising cost of materials and energy, is starting to bite.

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It will be a very long time if ever, that China's workers will earn anything close to what the west generally pays for jobs of equal value.

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The Chinese state demands controlling interest, or a large minority interest in all foreign corporations doing business in China. That's further to the left than democratic socialism. China's economy has grown at rates of six to ten percent for the last 21 years in a row. That's unprecedented.

Grappling With the Dragon of Labour Unrest - April

I can certainly understand the concerns of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions for workers rights in China. I think there are some horrific human rights abuses happening in China, ie. workers losing limbs in factory machines and hung out to dry by employers and all the worst kinds of violations imaginable.

On the other hand, the ICFTU says the Chinese competitiveness is based solely on the low wage advantage, which also appears to be obvious. I don;t think that's true anymore. We have to look at the kinds of companies that are doing business over there recently, and what kind of skills are being used. The Chinese now have a few companies that are being compared to the beginnings of Samsung and Sony. The Chinese are becoming, not just a manufacturing nation powered by low wages, but they're turning their attention to high technology. They currently leasing a lot of technology from parent companies abroad, but there seems to be attention toward purchasing technology, and with thay comes innovation and the chance to climb above being just another sweatshop economy like Hong Kong was/is.

The Chinese are sinking money into education and infrastructure to support a future high tech economy in some ways similar to the way social democrats did in Singapore from 1965 to 1990's.
Bob Rae says China is building 12 new M.I.T.-style engineering universities. And if we know anything about how the USian economy became such an economic powerhouse post WWII, it was driven by high technology.

The need for unions in China is paramount for workers there, yes. But I don't agree that taking advantage of low wages is ALL of what's driving the Chinese economy right now. I think they're working towards something bigger down the road.

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Originally posted by virge47:
It will be a very long time if ever, that China's workers will earn anything close to what the west generally pays for jobs of equal value.

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