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China factories face workforce woes

Millions of migrant workers streaming back to China's industrial hubs after the two-week long Chinese New Year break are facing an uncertain future, as smaller factories in particular struggle to cope with decreasing orders and rising inventories. In the Pearl River Delta in southern Guangdong province, which accounts for around a quarter of China's exports, workers and business owners say production lines have been slower than usual to restart after the holiday. An increasingly active and connected workforce in the country is demanding better salaries, food, accommodation and fair benefits. The relative slowdown in the economy is bad news for China's policymakers, who are scrambling to maintain financial and social stability. An official in Dongguan, a major industrial city near Shenzhen and Guangzhou, said 39,000 enterprises shut down there last year (though he stressed there were more businesses newly registered than those that closed). Several factory owners have suggested the chances of labor disputes or strikes occurring were increasing. Companies need to have effective employee-employer communication systems and emergency plans in place, continue to pay workers their correct wages and all social insurance benefits and monitor social media for any rumblings of discontent or large-scale actions.   

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