Currently, China's traditional processing industry generally faces the "blue collar bottleneck", and the rosewood furniture industry is a typical representative of this. At the beginning of 2011, the rosewood furniture industry in various regions across the country experienced a large-scale "labor shortage", and more people began to notice that when many media reported on the "labor shortage", they all put it in quotation marks. Is the "labor shortage" in the rosewood furniture industry just a false proposition? After the Spring Festival of 2012, the employment situation in major rosewood furniture production bases still attracted public attention.
After a period of field visits and investigations, reporters found that after the Lantern Festival, the employment situation in several major rosewood furniture production bases in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, etc., had become apparent.
Zhongshan, Guangdong: Located in the Pearl River Delta, with strong industrial base appeal
After the Lantern Festival, Dachong Redwood Street was under construction, dozens of redwood furniture shops were vigorously decorated, and the streets were bustling with traffic and lively voices, presenting a scene of vitality. According to the usual practice, most redwood furniture shops in the Guangdong area opened for business on the twelfth day of the first lunar month, but this year it was delayed until after the fifteenth day, and the workers in the factories did not arrive until after the twenty-fifth day of the lunar calendar. Recruitment notices posted at the doors of redwood furniture shops were everywhere. The most recruited positions were skilled carpenters, polishers, and laborers, while the demand for salespeople and clerks also increased this year.
As a specialized town for redwood furniture production, Dachong Town in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, has gathered thousands of redwood furniture factories, employing tens of thousands of redwood furniture workers, making it one of the main areas for carpenters to work outside their hometowns. Currently, most of the workers in Dachong come from Jiangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, and other places. In recent years, with the change in policies in various places and the rise of the redwood industry, many workers have started working in their hometowns, and some skilled workers who have accumulated a certain amount of funds have set up their own factories again, resulting in a relative reduction in the number of workers coming to Dachong. However, because Zhongshan is located in the economically developed Pearl River Delta region, Dachong still has the appeal of a traditional industrial base, and the climate in Guangdong is pleasant, so it is still the preferred destination for many workers.
Dongyang, Zhejiang: Government support increases the number of returning workers
In 2012, the number of redwood furniture enterprises in Dongyang City increased, and many large redwood furniture enterprises expanded their factory scales, leading to a sharp increase in the number of workers needed. Many enterprises were waiting with open arms. Most enterprise leaders also stated that after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, most old employees had returned, and recruitment for new job positions had reached 80%. But some enterprises also said that workers now not only focus on wages but also pay more attention to the working environment, so smaller enterprises find recruitment more difficult compared to previous years, and the time to return to normal production is relatively later.
The redwood furniture industry in Dongyang enjoys advantages of timing, location, and harmony. There are many talented artisans in fine arts who have unique insights into the superb skills and art of wood carving, which is unmatched by other regions. However, as an emerging industry in Dongyang, its rise also hides some crises. Although Dongyang's wood carving techniques are exquisite, there is still a lack of craftsmen proficient in redwood furniture manufacturing processes. With the dramatic increase in the number of enterprises, fierce competition among enterprises, and frequent poaching of high-salary talents, the market becomes irregular, and worker mobility is high. However, the Dongyang municipal government attaches great importance to the redwood industry and has successively introduced a series of relevant policies in recent years, focusing on the cultivation of technical talents and facilitating local people to work in their hometowns. Therefore, many Dongyang natives working elsewhere have returned home, making the Dongyang redwood industry increasingly prosperous and attracting many workers from other places.
Xianyou, Fujian: A large number of workshop-style enterprises, increasing employment
Currently, in Xianyou's factories and showrooms, recruitment advertisements can be seen everywhere, and many stores have not yet opened. Although most enterprises choose to start work after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and workers' wages have risen to a certain extent, most small and medium-sized enterprises still lack six or seven tenths of their workforce, and the factories cannot operate normally. It is reported that there are thousands of redwood furniture factories in Xianyou, requiring a huge workforce. After the "white skin door" incident at the end of 2010, the redwood industry in Xianyou welcomed an exceptionally booming year, but this boom did not fundamentally enhance the local industrial foundation and strength; instead, it created some illusions for the workers. After the lunar New Year, most enterprises in Xianyou did not have enough strength to significantly raise wages for the workers, causing a gap between the workers' expectations and the current situation, leading to a deadlock between the workers and the enterprises, and leaving many local factories without anyone to start work.
Xianyou is one of the redwood furniture production bases, with a long history of fine arts and abundant talent. However, most redwood furniture enterprises are still family workshops, with fewer standardized large enterprises, weak overall regional strength, and low attractiveness to talents. In recent years, the Fujian provincial government has begun to pay attention to the redwood furniture industry, successively introducing supportive policies and organizing related activities to promote the development of the local redwood furniture industry.
Conclusion: From the signs of the above three major redwood furniture production bases, the problem of labor shortages in the redwood furniture industry is no longer a "false proposition," and obvious "labor shortages" have appeared in various places. To solve this phenomenon, it is still necessary to "adapt measures to local conditions" and treat symptoms according to the characteristics of each region. (Source: China Classical Furniture Network, reporter JunJun)