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Outside a factory in Dongguan, a city in China’s manufacturing heartlands, school buses drop off children whose parents work at the Maisto toy factory, which manufactures Bburago collectable cars and radio-controlled vehicles.
在中國制造業重鎮——東莞市的一家工廠外，校車放下了一群孩子。這些孩子的父母就在這家美馳圖(Maisto)玩具廠工作，生產比美高(Bburago)車模收藏品和遙控玩具車。
About 120 children live in dormitories on the factory site. About 40 per cent of Maisto’s 3,000 workers live with partners and children and some of the dormitories, designed for young single workers, are being revamped to make them more suitable for families.
住在廠區宿舍的孩子大約有120個。在美馳圖的3000名員工中，約有40%與配偶和子女生活在一起，部分原本為年輕單身員工設計的宿舍正在翻修，以適合家庭居住。
If the toy factory is to retain workers in China’s new era of persistent labour shortages, then this kind of investment is necessary, says manager Michael Liu.
工廠經理Michael Liu表示，中國已進入勞動力持續緊缺的新階段，玩具廠想留住工人，這種投資就是必要的。
China’s working age population, defined as being those aged between 15 and 59, fell by 3.5m last year to 937m, a result of the one-child policy of the past three decades.
由于過去30年實行的獨生子女政策，中國勞動年齡人口（年齡為15歲到59歲之間）去年減少350萬，降至9.37億。
As the number of available workers falls, factories struggle not only to find new hires but also to retain existing staff. A young and educated workforce demands more from employers. In this context, working conditions matter as much as salary.
隨著可聘用的工人人數的減少，各工廠不僅需要努力招到新人，還需要努力留住現有員工。受過教育的年輕工人對于雇主的要求越來越多。在這種背景下，工作條件變的和薪水同樣重要。
“We want to give them a sense of belonging and the feeling of being respected,” says Mr Liu, referring to the company’s efforts that range from better housing for employees to soliciting suggestions from them in the factory.
Liu表示：“我們希望令他們體會到歸屬感，以及得到尊重的感覺。”他提到公司為留住員工作出的種種努力，包括提供更好的居住條件，以及更多傾聽員工的建議。
The past few weeks have made clear how severe the hiring crisis is. The weeks after the lunar new year holidays, which ended in late February this year, are typically peak recruiting season for Chinese workers.
用工危機在過去幾周表露無遺。今年的春節假期已于2月底結束，而通常春節假期之后的幾周是中國招工高峰季節。
But it has been difficult for many smaller employers in Dongguan, a string of satellite cities where factories predominate rather than housing or office towers. Some are struggling to recruit as many as half of the new workers they need, says Willy Lin, who owns a sweater factory in Dongguan.
然而在東莞，許多小雇主卻遇到了困難。東莞一家毛衣廠的廠主Willy Lin表示，有的工廠連所需新員工的一半都很難招到。東莞包括一系列衛星城市，這里工廠林立，住房或寫字樓則不多。
In this environment the minimum wage – set to rise to Rmb1,310 ($211) in May in Dongguan – means little. Already many employers pay much more than the statutory requirement.
于是，東莞將于5月將最低工資上調至每月1310元人民幣（合211美元）的決定，已經沒什么意義，因為許多雇主支付的工資早已大大高于法律的最低要求。
“Workers don’t care what the minimum wage is. They expect to be compensated at the market rate,” says Mr Lin. “Given the massive shortages [of labour] we are facing, I am not sure any method will work any more.”
Lin表示：“員工們并不關心最低工資是多少。他們希望薪酬達到市面水平。考慮到我們十分缺人，我不太確定還有什么辦法能奏效。”
David Liu, who owns a handbag manufacturer in Dongguan, offers up to Rmb2,000 per month for new employees and Rmb3,000 for those with a year of experience. So far, he has only managed to hire 40 per cent of the workers he needs.
東莞一家手袋生產商David Liu為新員工開出了最高每月2000元人民幣的報酬，而對于有一年經驗的員工，報酬達到了每月3000元人民幣。然而到目前為止，他僅招到了所需員工數目的40%。
Workers’ confidence that they can get a new job means that many take longer breaks over the lunar new year.
由于工人們有信心能夠找到新工作，許多人決定在春節期間休息更長時間。
“Nowadays, workers think differently,” Mr Liu says. “They want a one- to two-month break before looking for a new job after the new year.”
Liu表示：“如今工人們的想法不同了。新年之后他們希望休息一兩個月再找工作。”
The Guangdong government on Monday said the province had a shortage of half a million workers after the lunar new year.
廣東省政府周一表示，該省春節后用工缺口達50萬人。
Such is the shortage of staff that when Jane Cheng attended a wedding at a three-star hotel recently, the security guards doubled as waiters. A new generation of better educated workers demands respect, says Ms Cheng, the human resources manager at TTI, which makes lawnmowers and power tools. It employs 9,000 people in Dongguan.
TTI是一家生產除草機和電動工具的公司，在東莞雇有9000名員工。公司人力資源部經理Jane Cheng表示，新一代工人受過更好的教育，要求得到尊重。員工是如此緊缺，以至于Cheng女士最近在一家三星級酒店參加婚禮時，發現那里的保安人數是服務生的兩倍。
It is not unusual now for workers to turn down jobs they see as being too taxing.
工人們拒絕他們認為太過勞累的工作，也已屢見不鮮。
“We have had applicants who say, ‘You require workers to stand and work all day. I need a place to work where I can sit,’??” she says with a laugh.
Cheng笑著說：“我們遇到過求職者說：‘你們要求工人們成天站著工作，我要找的是能坐著工作的地方。’”
A better educated workforce may be more demanding but their education could also foster greater productivity. Arthur Kroeber, who heads research firm Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing, says China is better placed than its competitors, such as India, to raise the productivity of its workers because they are far better educated.
受教育程度更高的工人要求可能更高，但他們的教育背景也會促進生產率的提高。北京研究機構龍洲經訊(Gavekal Dragonomics)的主管葛藝豪(Arthur Kroeber)表示，比起包括印度在內的競爭對手，中國在提高工人生產率方面更有優勢，因為中國工人的受教育程度要高得多。
Retaining workers is a step towards better productivity, especially in Dongguan where as many as 10 per cent of workers quit their jobs every month
要提高生產率，首先要能留住工人，特別是在東莞這個工人流動性很大的地方。在東莞，每月有10%的工人離職。
So far, Maisto’s strategy has helped it retain and recruit staff, Mr Liu says. This year, it recruited as many as 50 workers a day after the new year hiring period. This compares with just 10 a day last year.
美馳圖的Liu表示，公司采取的措施對招募和留住員工產生了幫助。今年，該公司在春節之后每天招募的員工數多達50名，而去年每天只能招到10人。
And Maisto’s plans do not stop with dormitories. The company plans to introduce a pension system for workers who stay with the company into their thirties and forties. The family dormitories have prompted workers to recommend the factory to jobseekers. In today’s Dongguan, employers need all the good references they can get.
而美馳圖的計劃并不止步于員工宿舍。該公司計劃為在公司一直工作到三、四十歲的員工引入養老金制度。一些住上了“家庭宿舍”的員工將美馳圖推薦給了其他找工者。在如今的東莞，任何好口碑都是雇主們求之不得的。
Additional reporting by Julie Zhu
英國《金融時報》Julie Zhu補充報道
