Skilled workers see increase in social recognition and salaries

Skilled workers have seen increases in their pay and progress in their level of social recognition as China seeks to upgrade its manufacturing sector.

Li Hui, a senior electrician with the China Southern Power Grid, shared that as a common worker without administrative titles, he enjoys a pay on par with the head of his department. The 52-year-old said he has two highly skilled colleagues whose pay can rival that of the company's senior executives.

"It is us workers who oversee the implementation of new technology, engineering designs and implementation plans," he said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Friday in the run-up to the May Day holiday.

"If controlled well, there will be quality products and projects; if not, there may be a disaster," he said.

Li added that such an "irreplaceable role" played by skilled workers is getting increasingly notable in recent years and many have had a larger say in company's decision-making.

Speaking at the event, Wei Fengyun, a senior welder with the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, said she has sensed a steady increase in the social recognition of skilled workers like her over recent years.

The progress came concurrently with the increased input by her employer in workers' vocational training, and the growing chance for workers to participate in a variety of vocational skills contests, as well as success at such platforms would, in turn, become advantages in getting promotions and a pay rise.

"Our front-line workers are more and more motivated," the 45-year-old said.

Zheng Zhiming, 44, is a fitter with the Guangxi Auto, a carmaker headquartered in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He told the news conference that his employer has kept overhauling the salary system. So far, highly skilled workers can earn as much as that of company's middle-level leadership and are entitled to numerous grants for experts.

"The new system has energized us workers," he said.

Jin Kejuan, president of the Anhui Fuyang Technician College, said the school now recruits more than 5,000 freshmen each year, five times the level when it was first established.

"When it comes to graduation season, employers swarm the campus and create an eye-popping scene," she said.

Jin said that students of certain majors were booked away way before graduation and, in some cases, employers compete to hire the same students. "The employment rate of our graduates is over 98 percent, and the monthly salary for majors such as welding technology and intelligent manufacturing can reach over 10,000 yuan ($1,446).