The answer to this is not just raising pay or improving working conditions. Pay generally rises in par with inflation. But more attention should be paid towards Labour mobility.
Why does a cleaner like the one pointed at the article has to remain a cleaner? China is not short of jobs I believe (its one of the most robust economy in the world), but the necessary skills are needed. The government should make provision for the training of such workers so that they can take up better jobs with a higher productivity. Self employment should not be ignored. The factory worker could join up with friends to open up a shop. He does not have to remain like this. There are opportunities everywhere, for those who think in a different way rather than the common mass...
Another factor is the fault of the person himself. Like one of our driver who has been with us for the past 3 years. I once asked him why does he have to work for us when there are hundreds of vacancies in the job newspapers each day? His answer was "I don't have much education. I only studied up to SSC. How do I take up such jobs?". This is a very lame excuse. He is actually unwilling to do anything to improve his situation. All he does is to make such excuses. His attitude, as it seems to me, is 'I have a job. So what do I need?'. This is very backward thinking. There are always room for improvement. There are many training centres. His excuse of 'education' is thus a lame one to cover up his unwillingness.
It is logical that businesses will try to minimise their cost as much as possible. So, its not their fault. Its up to the workers to back themselves up. Everyone should assume their own responsibility, and workers are no different.
