Asus hires thousands of workers a day; migrant workers prefer temporary jobs
By Wang Xin, IT Times
Just after the Spring Festival, the recruitment market for migrant workers in Shanghai began to gradually heat up. Although there are more people around, recruitment agencies still complain about doing bad business, while on the other side, job seekers hesitate when faced with multiple job options. The cautious attitudes of both employers and employees linger like the chill of early spring, refusing to dissipate.
Recruitment intermediaries advertise "guaranteed entry" — Asus needs as many workers as it can get
At the Pudong Jinqiao Employment Security Service Management Center for Migrant Workers, hundreds of job seekers gather here every morning. The center's director, Yan Shenglin, said: "It’s just after the New Year, so there aren’t that many people yet. Generally, the recruitment peak occurs around March, with as many as 1,500 people looking for jobs here in a single day."
The reason why people come here to look for work is simple, according to Xiao Ji, a migrant worker who has just arrived from Sichuan: "Firstly, there are many large electronics factories nearby, and secondly, this place is government-run, so it’s more formal." It is reported that near the center are production bases of many famous IT companies such as Huawei (Weibo), Omron, Hitachi, Sharp, and Ricoh.
At the scene, dozens of employment agencies have written their recruitment advertisements on blackboards, offering a wide variety of positions. Some even claim "guaranteed entry," stating that "as long as you pass the health check and complete the training, you will be immediately employed."
A responsible person from one of the employment agencies told reporters, "Take Asus for example, they need to hire thousands of people every day. At Asus’s factory in Songjiang, there are over 40,000 laborers at any given time." Another intermediary added, "Asus will take as many people as you can provide. If you have 10,000 people, they’ll take them all right away."
However, the aforementioned employment agency official also stated that now is not yet the real time of a labor shortage. In previous years, when there was an urgent need for workers, 10 factories would compete for 2 people, and HR managers from many large factories would personally oversee recruitment efforts here.
Yan Shenglin analyzed that in recent years, events such as the 2008 financial crisis and the Japan earthquake have had various impacts on the local employment market. "For example, in 2009, our market saw a total influx of 203,000 people, the most in history, but only 28,000 managed to find jobs successfully, which is just over half of what we see in normal years." Yan Shenglin believes that this year's market will still be somewhat affected by the European debt crisis, and the trend of the employment market may not become clear until after the Lantern Festival.
Migrant workers dissatisfied with low wages prefer temporary jobs
Many manufacturers are eager to recruit talent, but the incoming migrant workers appear much more composed. Master Feng from Henan said he had been here before the New Year, waiting for a satisfactory job. He noticed many familiar faces who, like him, were hesitant to start working. "These young people are more flexible in their thinking and less willing to commit easily."
Income remains the primary concern for migrant workers. Currently, the base salary offered by employers in the job market generally ranges between 1,300-1,500 yuan, with overtime pay bringing the monthly income of workers to mostly 2,500-3,000 yuan. Recruitment agencies charge fees of 300-400 yuan, and some technical positions with higher monthly salaries, such as auto parts manufacturing, sometimes require nearly 1,000 yuan as an "introduction fee."
Clearly, most migrant workers are dissatisfied with the wages offered by the manufacturers. Master Feng said, "If I work back home, I can earn over 1,000 yuan too. If I come to Shanghai and only make 2,000 yuan per month, I definitely won't do it." Many job seekers at the scene also paid close attention to the amount of overtime pay. If choosing between "five days of daytime shifts per week" and "six days of 12-hour rotating shifts," many would choose the latter because they could earn an extra 1,000 yuan or more per month.
Chen Yixia, manager of Shanghai Tongda Labor Services Co., Ltd., revealed to reporters that most job seekers here prioritize immediate wages. Many of them cannot even recognize all 24 English letters and almost never plan for their careers. "We’ve educated them quite a bit, but they often still refuse to take stable jobs. Sometimes, they even prefer daily temporary jobs that pay around 100 yuan a day, then look for something better later. One Japanese electronics factory here needs to hire dozens of people, but in the entire morning, only a dozen or so people agreed to attend interviews. On the other hand, another factory recruiting a dozen temporary workers has already filled its quota." Chen Yixia expressed helplessness.