As China’s Workers Get a Raise, Companies Fret

HONG KONG — As China’s Workers Get a Raise, Companies Fret
By KEITH BRADSHER

HONG KONG — Wages are surging this year in China and among its main low-wage Asian rivals, benefiting workers across the region. But the increases confront trading companies and Western retailers with cost increases and are making higher prices likely for American and European consumers.

...

Bangladesh raised its minimum wage by 87 percent late last year, yet apparel factories there are still struggling to find enough workers to complete ever-rising numbers of orders. “Everywhere you see signs saying ‘people wanted,’ “ said Annisul Huq, the chairman of the Mohammadi Group, a large Bangladesh garment manufacturer.

The Gap surprised financial markets on May 19 by announcing that a 20 percent jump in costs from suppliers by the second half of this year would depress its profits, prompting a 17.5 percent plunge of its shares the next day. Coach, the luxury handbag company, announced in January that it would try to reduce its reliance on China to less than half of its products within four years, from 80 percent now, by moving production to Vietnam and India.

Yet wages in Vietnam have been rising as fast as Chinese wages, or faster, while India has posed many problems for large-scale manufacturers. Mr. Rockowitz said that India’s infrastructure — roads and ports — was “really poor,” while labor issues, including government regulations, make it hard to build Chinese-style factories for tens of thousands of workers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/business/global/01wages.html?_r=1&ref=business&pagewanted=print

nt

help bring manufacturing jobs back to the US? k&r

the corporations will probably just find the next China. They will find the next country that will allow them to pollute, under pay workers, and provide a less than safe work enviroment. The worst part about China, India, Korea, etc.. is that there are many other countries willing to lower the bar even further.

China's govt and its people won't sit quietly as the jobs disappear from them. They will take action, and it won't pretty.

Yavin4

Most posible, they wil conficate the industry, right in front of the companies who are treating to leave for "better business opportunities".. The government of China wil NOT playing nice, with the big players... They are also not the regular small fry who wil just say yessir if they are treating to relocate...

Diclotican

And of course US pols will sell it to us as our patriotic duty to protect their assets

Yavin4

If MNCs are demanding that, I fear US is gettitng into more trouble than its wort... China are ntt Iraq, or some other country with less than stealler military... China is a country who is modernaizing in a redneck pace.. And hey do have a mighty military, with a couple of million soldiers.. A standing army of just 4.5 million, and a reseve force of maybe 20 million or more if you count with the older groups.. And also a willingness to give everything for China from 1.3 billion peopole... That would have been some carrot to eat even for the mighty US army, navy and navy... and the special brances...

And then you have the size of the country, one of the largerst country in the world.. Even if US was to take Bejing, the chinese government could just relocate and fight on for many years to came.. As they have allways doing when the enemy tok the capital.. China is not the same as Iraq or some other country..

And then you might even manage to break the camels back when it came to your alliances too.. US was really breaking new grounds when it came to Iraq in 2003, and was burning a lot of brigdes in the prosess.. If US was to attack over this, I fear you might burn the rest of the brigdes who are still under repairs after the Iraq Affair.. Aftr all, it was a whole generation who wake up to the reality that US was doing something they should not have been doing.. A Generation who had grown up trusting US as their good friend and mighty allied... (At least it was a wakeup call for me!) And the dust from that affair have not yet settled down in some parts of the world.. GWB destroyed far more than just Iraq...

Of course, the US government, and its peole wil belive it is your "duty" to protect their assets, and to wage a war with Chine.. My experience is that if you just wawe the flag in front of the american public, they are able of doing a LOT of stupid thing, in the name of US.. The Bush administration was great in doing that, wawing the flag in the face of your young men and woman.. And a lot of them was following, and are following the lead down to the abyss..
But then again. China HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPON, and the full capasity to hit any places of US if they was been attaced by US forces.. Its smaller than most country that size, but big enough to let generals deside twice what to do.. And if US was to attack China Im pretty sure a couple of US city's would be ashes before the landing party was underway...

Diclotican

Lots of people to exploit there once China becomes "just too expensive"