Factory girls Honda workers strike for better conditions
Ariana Lindquist / New York Times / Redux
中國罷工潮下的未來
What China’s Labor Unrest Means for Its Future
工廠罷工只是中國工廠的平常生活的一景罷了，但在今年夏天的全球經濟中，中國工廠的罷工可就變得不一樣了。這個變化需要好幾年的時間，但是我們正在眼睜睜目睹中國這個身為世界血汗工廠的重要角色，即將功成身退地落幕。
過去幾個月中，幾個重要的企業同意罷工的中國員工所提出的薪水。這些在廣東省佛山的員工，經由兩個禮拜的抗議示威中，迫使本田汽車將汽車變速器的價格提高至24%~34%間，這些罷工效法一個為本田工廠代工的上游廠商，以及另外一個為本田──這個日本汽車巨擘製造後照鏡、車鎖的代工廠。而富士康，這個為蘋果、HP、索尼以及其它企業製造電子零件的企業，在今年一連串員工跳樓自殺事件後，宣布調高基本薪資達一倍以上，而這樣的措施也讓台商企業緊張持續觀望中。
Over the past month, key foreign firms have agreed to hefty pay hikes for their Chinese employees. Workers at a plant in Foshan, Guangdong province, that makes transmissions for Honda won pay increases of 24% to 34% after going on strike for two weeks. That was followed with a walkout at an exhaust-parts factory partly owned by a Honda subsidiary and another strike at a plant that makes mirrors and lock mechanisms for the Japanese auto giant. Foxconn, which produces electronics for Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and others, announced hikes totaling more than 100% of base pay after a series of worker suicides this year put the Taiwanese company under intense scrutiny. (See portraits of Chinese workers.)
過去，罷工被地方政府的法律訴訟，或是中央政府的大中國貿易聯邦工會所壓下來，完全排除在大眾關注之外。但是最近在中國媒體的批露下，罷工、調漲薪資頻頻成功。然而這些都還不夠，這些工人們因為中國高層的放話支持，罷工的意識更加激昂。中國總理溫家寶，對此罷工事件沒有正面回應，但六月十四日他在北京稱這些離家鄉工作的工人們為「珍寶」，而中國社會應該將之「視如己出」。
因此，今年夏天中國各地的同樣罷工事件就更加的頻繁了，為當地企業及外商企業製造出源源不絕的額外支出。為了迎合這些工人的要求，今年，中國超過三十家地區、城市將提高最低工資起薪。雖然工資僅被提高一點點，但這同時，也意味著全球的消費者最終要為「中國製造」的商品多付一點鈔票了。(註：6/9 深圳核定基本工資上漲一成，到1,100人民幣。上海、北京今年也分別上調基本工資20%、16.7%，幅度為5年來新高 )
The likelihood of a summer of copycat strikes is thus high, creating the potential for a cascade of pay increases at foreign and locally owned enterprises. In an effort to head off worker demands, about 30 cities and regions in China are expected to raise minimum wages this year. Although price increases should be small, as labor comprises a fraction of the overall cost of manufacturing goods in China, this means consumers around the world will eventually have to pay more for Chinese products. (See pictures of China's internal migrants.)
其實這是件好事，想知道為什麼嗎？看看另一個促進經濟起飛的歷史轉戾點。1914年亨利福特決定將他工廠內生產線工人的薪水提高至兩倍，等於一天可以賺到五美元。那時他被稱為是個大善人，但是這個美國的工廠大亨有他自己的考量。他想要藉由增加可負擔福特汽車的消費者，進而達到汽車廠內人力的轉型。將近一世紀後，相同的加薪政策也能讓中國的藍領階級發展得更好。每個在中國本田工廠的工人雖然不能馬上買到本田汽車，但是他們有能力可以消費得更多，藉此能夠刺激國內景氣。這些對中國及世界市場都是件好事，當一個國家對出口的依賴越少，與美國、歐洲等貿易夥伴的摩擦也因此能消弭。(註：關於福特的作為，請參閱網址)
是什麼造成這波罷工潮？自從1980年代開始，中國工人的薪資就成為總成本重要的一部分，它降低了企業的利潤，而政府的稅收也因此增加。這個趨勢不甚穩定，而且中國新的一代無法忍受這個情況，這個新的一代中國工人，他們比他們的父母更意識到自己應得的權利。這一批年輕的工人，也更可望在工廠內的工作，也期望在下一個十年能翻轉局勢。當他們開始幹活時，他們也變的更加挑剔。
去年秋天，我面談了好幾個工廠職員，作為中國工人的群像代表。其中一個還是2009年時代雜誌的年度人物。裡頭年紀最長的僅有36歲，但是在他的世代與年輕世代中最不一樣的其實很明顯。年輕世代被其他較年長的同事嚇唬，在工廠裡的日子如何的恐怖，充滿著汗水、高溫、昏暗的燈光，連續工作好幾周沒放一天假，這些辛勤的工作都只為了賺一點點的現金寄回家鄉。對西方人來說，這些年輕世代經歷的依舊是艱困的時刻，長工時，很少的休息，但當我問他們為什麼還願意前去這些像是深圳沿海的繁榮都市工作？他們全都說：「為了玩！」
所以，那就也是中國製造業在這又長又熱的夏天會做出的這樣行為的部分原因。當今得這個世代希望能分到好利潤得更大一份羹。而且當局領導者也意識到這個趨勢。跟廉價玩具、牛仔褲、零嘴點心瞎攪和在一起的美妙中國已經結束了。要是這個世界強權想要滿足自己人民的需求，他就得將他的子民們從血汗工廠中提升出來，而這個旅程正要開始！
See pictures of China at 60.
Labor unrest is part of life in China's factory towns, and yet there is something different about this summer's strife that will have broad implications for the global economy. It will take years for the changes to take hold. But we are witnessing nothing less than the beginning of the end of China's role as the sweatshop of the world.
過去幾個月中，幾個重要的企業同意罷工的中國員工所提出的薪水。這些在廣東省佛山的員工，經由兩個禮拜的抗議示威中，迫使本田汽車將汽車變速器的價格提高至24%~34%間，這些罷工效法一個為本田工廠代工的上游廠商，以及另外一個為本田──這個日本汽車巨擘製造後照鏡、車鎖的代工廠。而富士康，這個為蘋果、HP、索尼以及其它企業製造電子零件的企業，在今年一連串員工跳樓自殺事件後，宣布調高基本薪資達一倍以上，而這樣的措施也讓台商企業緊張持續觀望中。
Over the past month, key foreign firms have agreed to hefty pay hikes for their Chinese employees. Workers at a plant in Foshan, Guangdong province, that makes transmissions for Honda won pay increases of 24% to 34% after going on strike for two weeks. That was followed with a walkout at an exhaust-parts factory partly owned by a Honda subsidiary and another strike at a plant that makes mirrors and lock mechanisms for the Japanese auto giant. Foxconn, which produces electronics for Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and others, announced hikes totaling more than 100% of base pay after a series of worker suicides this year put the Taiwanese company under intense scrutiny. (See portraits of Chinese workers.)
過去，罷工被地方政府的法律訴訟，或是中央政府的大中國貿易聯邦工會所壓下來，完全排除在大眾關注之外。但是最近在中國媒體的批露下，罷工、調漲薪資頻頻成功。然而這些都還不夠，這些工人們因為中國高層的放話支持，罷工的意識更加激昂。中國總理溫家寶，對此罷工事件沒有正面回應，但六月十四日他在北京稱這些離家鄉工作的工人們為「珍寶」，而中國社會應該將之「視如己出」。
In the past, labor disputes were typically resolved out of public view with the intervention of local governments or the state-backed All-China Federation of Trade Unions. But the current strife and the successful wage increases obtained are all over the Chinese media — and that's not all. Workers' aspirations for better conditions appear to have the guarded support of the highest levels of the Chinese government. Without commenting directly on the strikes, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told migrant workers in Beijing on June 14 that their labor was "a glorious thing" and that society should treat them as "their own children."
因此，今年夏天中國各地的同樣罷工事件就更加的頻繁了，為當地企業及外商企業製造出源源不絕的額外支出。為了迎合這些工人的要求，今年，中國超過三十家地區、城市將提高最低工資起薪。雖然工資僅被提高一點點，但這同時，也意味著全球的消費者最終要為「中國製造」的商品多付一點鈔票了。(註：6/9 深圳核定基本工資上漲一成，到1,100人民幣。上海、北京今年也分別上調基本工資20%、16.7%，幅度為5年來新高 )
The likelihood of a summer of copycat strikes is thus high, creating the potential for a cascade of pay increases at foreign and locally owned enterprises. In an effort to head off worker demands, about 30 cities and regions in China are expected to raise minimum wages this year. Although price increases should be small, as labor comprises a fraction of the overall cost of manufacturing goods in China, this means consumers around the world will eventually have to pay more for Chinese products. (See pictures of China's internal migrants.)
其實這是件好事，想知道為什麼嗎？看看另一個促進經濟起飛的歷史轉戾點。1914年亨利福特決定將他工廠內生產線工人的薪水提高至兩倍，等於一天可以賺到五美元。那時他被稱為是個大善人，但是這個美國的工廠大亨有他自己的考量。他想要藉由增加可負擔福特汽車的消費者，進而達到汽車廠內人力的轉型。將近一世紀後，相同的加薪政策也能讓中國的藍領階級發展得更好。每個在中國本田工廠的工人雖然不能馬上買到本田汽車，但是他們有能力可以消費得更多，藉此能夠刺激國內景氣。這些對中國及世界市場都是件好事，當一個國家對出口的依賴越少，與美國、歐洲等貿易夥伴的摩擦也因此能消弭。(註：關於福特的作為，請參閱網址)
Look upon it as a good thing. To see why, consider another epochal shift in the development of a rising economic power. In 1914, Henry Ford decided to double the pay of rank-and-file workers in his factories to $5 a day. He was praised for his generosity, but the American industrial pioneer had some self-serving goals in mind. He wanted to reduce employee turnover while boosting the number of people who could afford Ford automobiles. Nearly a century later, similar pay increases will help China develop its own, more prosperous working class. Average workers at Honda's Chinese plants might not be able to buy Accords anytime soon, but they will be able to spend more, thus increasing domestic consumption. And that's positive for both China and the rest of the world. As the country becomes less reliant on exports for economic growth, frictions with trade partners like the U.S. and Europe should ease.
是什麼造成這波罷工潮？自從1980年代開始，中國工人的薪資就成為總成本重要的一部分，它降低了企業的利潤，而政府的稅收也因此增加。這個趨勢不甚穩定，而且中國新的一代無法忍受這個情況，這個新的一代中國工人，他們比他們的父母更意識到自己應得的權利。這一批年輕的工人，也更可望在工廠內的工作，也期望在下一個十年能翻轉局勢。當他們開始幹活時，他們也變的更加挑剔。
What's driving the shift? Since the 1980s, Chinese workers' wages as a share of the total economy have declined as corporate profits and government revenue have risen. It's an unsustainable trend, and one that won't be tolerated by a new generation of workers who have a higher sense of entitlement than their predecessors. The number of young people — those most desired for factory work — is also expected to fall over the next decade. They can be choosier when it comes to employers.
去年秋天，我面談了好幾個工廠職員，作為中國工人的群像代表。其中一個還是2009年時代雜誌的年度人物。裡頭年紀最長的僅有36歲，但是在他的世代與年輕世代中最不一樣的其實很明顯。年輕世代被其他較年長的同事嚇唬，在工廠裡的日子如何的恐怖，充滿著汗水、高溫、昏暗的燈光，連續工作好幾周沒放一天假，這些辛勤的工作都只為了賺一點點的現金寄回家鄉。對西方人來說，這些年輕世代經歷的依舊是艱困的時刻，長工時，很少的休息，但當我問他們為什麼還願意前去這些像是深圳沿海的繁榮都市工作？他們全都說：「為了玩！」
Last fall, I interviewed several factory employees as representatives of the Chinese worker — one of the runners-up for TIME's 2009 Person of the Year. The oldest was just 36. But the difference between her generation and the teenagers just entering the workforce was marked. The youngsters listened in awe as older colleagues described life in sweatshops, enduring fumes, high temperatures and blinding lights for weeks without rest, all to save a little cash to send home. By Western standards the young workers still have it tough, with long hours and few rest days. But when I asked why they went to the coastal boomtown of Shenzhen for work, they invariably said, "For fun."
所以，那就也是中國製造業在這又長又熱的夏天會做出的這樣行為的部分原因。當今得這個世代希望能分到好利潤得更大一份羹。而且當局領導者也意識到這個趨勢。跟廉價玩具、牛仔褲、零嘴點心瞎攪和在一起的美妙中國已經結束了。要是這個世界強權想要滿足自己人民的需求，他就得將他的子民們從血汗工廠中提升出來，而這個旅程正要開始！
That, paradoxically, is part of the reason why China can expect a long hot summer of industrial action. The current generation of workers wants a greater share of the good times, and their leaders are beginning to understand that. Churning out cheap toys, jeans and sneakers has done wonders for China, but if the world's next superpower is to fulfill its real potential, it will have to lift its people out of the sweatshops. That journey starts now.
See pictures of the making of modern China. See pictures of China at 60.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1997298,00.html#ixzz0sEKYNees
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