They Deserve: Workers of the Year

  According to the data from National Statistics Bureau, the contribution of Chinese Industries to GDP exceed 50% in 2009, and Textile industry as a traditional pillar industry in China was considered as the most competitive industry that employed 20 million textile workers. In other words, Chinese textile workers as the basic units of textile industry made a significant contribution to Chinese economic development. With the purpose of seeing and believing their working and living situation, I visited Jiangsu Hongruichangtai Textile Co., Ltd and interviewed several textile workers there.

  When I entered the plant, the environment attracted me deeply. A fountain pool is located in the center of this plant, spraying several water columns, weaving a beautiful water nets. Some Chinese traditional pavilions stand upright on both sides of the way. When I entered the hall of office building, there are several boards regarding healthy tips and common sense of law were pasted on the walls. The office director received my interview in term of the issue of textile workers' welfare in Hongruichangtai Textile Co., Ltd.

  According to her introduction, the enteprise culture as a keystone was emphasised in Hongruichangtai. Every Monday morning, all the executive staff and textile workers will cluster together in the meeting hall, discussing the work plan for new week. This meeting is necessary because it can avoid the sense of hierarchy in enterprises. Meanwhile, it also provide a good communication opportunity for both executive staff and textile workers. Every month, some entertainment events such as tug-of-war were organised in order to improve the physique of textile workers. Hongruichangtai offered a karaoke room to its employees for free every night, organizing singing competitions for its workers. What's more, the family activities were held frequently in order to boost the family love between workers and their children.  

  After interviewed the office director, I made inquiries from financial director regaring the salary level and financial welfare. In the Hongruichantai, the average salary is 1,680 Yuan per month, and the enterprise paid all types of insurance for its textile workers such as endowment insurance and other social securities. Meanwhile, Hongruichangtai also offer the consolation money to its workers according to their weddings or funerals. In the economic downturn period, no worker was laid off in Hongruichangtai despite the bad business performance. 

  The office director and the finanical director gave me detailed material related to the current situation of textile workers. However, I still want to interview some textile workers because they are the real protagonists in my article. Led by the office director, I approached workshops with buzzing spinning machines lined up orderly, producing blankets rapidly, and textile workers are operating these machines adroitly with enthusiasm. I gave interviews to several workers from workshop in order to touch their real feelings.

The spinning worker (Mr. Guo) :

  Before working in Hongruichangtai Textile Co., Ltd, his was a peasant just like his parents in Jiangxi Province, earning less than 500 Yuan monthly. In the year of 2004, a tragedy strike fell on his family. His father suffered cancer of pancreas, and the medical expense is a large sum of money for this family. He gave up his farming to be a textile worker in Hongruichangtai in order to earn sufficient money to cure his father. He showed me his pay roll, the salary of Dec., is 1780 Yuan. In addition, he told me that the enterprise pay him additional 2000 Yuan every year due to his situation and offers a free meal to him every day.

The printing worker (Mrs. Wang):

  She has worked in Hongruichangtai as a printing worker for more than five years. As she is a mother with two children, the enterprise provided an independent accommodation to her and her children. Every spring everning, she likes to hand her children across the living quarter of Hongruichangtai, relaxing and laying herself and her children on a grassy lawn. She said that the enteprise provide the excellent living facilities for the textile workers. Air conditioner was fixed in every accommodation and the bathroom was constructed on every floor.

The workshop manager (Mr. Tang): 

  He came from Zhejiang province and had six year working experience as a textile worker. At the beginning of 2008, he was chosen as the manager of spinning work shop. In the past six years, he witnessed the development of Hongruichangtai and the change of working conditions. At the beginning of 2004, the working facilities are not so good especially in summer, the temperature of workshop reached to 40 degree Celsius. However, the working environment improved in 2008 because of the social responsibility was fulfilled by the enterprise. Central Airconditioning System was fixed in every workshop, bringing cool air to the textile workers in hot summer. In short, the working condition of textile workers' changed better. 

  It was the time for the workers to knock off, and I also finished my interview in Jiangsu Hongruichangtai Textile Co., Ltd. Just when I was stepping out of the gate of this enterprise, I saw a group of textile workers going out for lunch with a smile. I knew their happiness by the look on their faces. As a saying goes a small bead can reflect the whole world, this interview provided me a good opportunity to touch the Chinese textile workers deeply and understand their happiness from that smile. There goes another saying that is always at the tip of the tongue, a word "Bao Ba" which means "Protect Eight", the 8% aunnal economic growthy rate that government believes is critical to ensuring social security. Many thought hitting such a figure in 2009 was a pipe dream. China Made It! Who deserves the credit? Time magazine's person of the year puts Chinese workers in the list of runners- up for that front cover photo. I think, if this magazine presents Chinese Textile person of the year, I'd definitely recommend these adored workers as idols of the year. That makes sense for talking with ordinary workers in the Who's Who column! And it gives me a good reason to visit textile factories in my hometown where l've found out tens of of millions of workers who have left their home and families to work in textile plants, their contribution to " Bao Ba", even to the textile economic growth has been greatly acknowledged.

Source form China Textile Magazine

Subscribe this magazine for more fresh information on Chinese textile and apparel trades, in English, monthly!

T: +86 10 8522 9751

F: +86 10 8522 9277

M: china.textile.serve@gmail.com

http://www.ctei.gov.cn/070823/index.htm