The Chinese New Year holiday is coming to an end, and so is this blog’s reticence on a range of issues. We should be back to full-strength – or pretty close – early next week. For now, one quick Chinese New Year item that I meant to post before the holiday, and forgot. Here’s the deal: back in January, World Expo 2010 organizers told Shanghai Daily that nearly 20% of the more than 100 pavilions to be built for the massive event would not be ready for the opening on May 1. Part of the problem – and it was a big one – was that much of the migrant labor force required to build the 2.5 mile fair-ground and its pavilions was planning to take two weeks off to enjoy the New Year holiday. Below, some of those laborers enjoying a break outside of the terrific Dutch pavilion.
Anyway, a few days before the Shanghai Daily story ran, I happened to be at the Expo site, visiting one of the incomplete national pavilions (to be clear: not the Dutch pavilion). While there, someone associated with the structure told me that – out of fear of losing the structure’s two-hundred man labor force – New Year bonuses were being offered. According to this person, the regular daily wage at this particular pavilion (can’t speak for the others) was/is RMB 200, or roughly US$29.00/day. That’s one hell of a good wage for a Chinese construction worker, but – apparently – not nearly enough to keep a migrant worker with leverage – in this case, incomplete Expo 2010 pavilions – in his back pocket. And so, according to the national pavilion official with whom I spoke, cagey/homesick migrant laborers rejected offers of RMB 400 (US$58), RMB 600 (US$87), and RMB 1000 (US$145) per day to work during the two-week Chinese New Year. Those are serious wages for white collars in Shanghai, much less a migrant construction workers, and I hereby offer my sincere respect to whomever was responsible for the migrant side of that negotiation. Alas, I didn’t manage to follow-up on what the ultimate outcome/wage was, but – with labor rates like that – I suspect that more than a few migrants called home to ask that the fireworks be lit without them.
Year of the Tiger blogging, coming next week.
Love the idea of migrants outnegotiating members of the diplomatic corps. On the other hand if the diplomatic corps can’t handle migrants what makes anybody think they can handle the CCP.
Semper – I get your point. But sheesh, it’s only the first post of the year (of the tiger), so let’s try and avoid drawing deep geopolitical conclusions out of the magician’s hat for a few more weeks, at least.
I find those numbers hard to believe.
I have no idea of Shanghai rates, but a moderately experienced construction worker in Dalian can earn around 800-1000 Yuan per month with regular employment, more if they have a real in-demand skill (though they may have to pay board from that wage).
If there’s a building they’re working on over new year break and they’re pretty important in seeing the completion of the project (a team that know the production stage, for example) I can see a generous Hong Bao being given. I can also see it being given in 2 stages, with the larger chunk in the form of a stamped post-dated contract with the construction company rather than cash, payable on their return (rather than completion, but that’s negotiation).
Two hundred per day is impressive. That’s like the heavy equipment is pro-rata’d with them, and sounds super high.
If there’s anyone that’s connable it must be a foreign company working for a foreign government that mainly uses their own people, none of which have any experience in CN construction. Each of those choke points are a potential con point, and all of them are probably in play to some degree.
Is there a going to be made a table breaking down each venue’s cost into design, construction, sqm, etc, comparing the venues of each country. That would be interesting. Costs, bids, venue size, and other details, must be publicly disclosed for most countries?
From what I hear, the average wage for construction workers in Hangzhou is 2 – 4k per month, depending on company and skills I guess, whereas I heard that its more like 6k in Shanghai if they can get in the bigger projects…so 200 a day is probably not much of a sweetener. I dunno why anyone would turn down 1k per day though – as much as CNY may be the only time they see their family per year, wouldn’t it be logical that they work for that rate for a month, then could take a month or two off and still make a killing?
I’m guessing that 200 per day is what the contractor is charging the developer. would be interesting to talk with a migrant worker and see how much of that filters down