雙語:中國年輕一代對工作更挑剔

【英文原文】

Factory worker Chen Qinghai frowned as he looked at a tall bulletin board full of help-wanted notices from companies making everything from mobile phones to car parts。

The 19-year-old saw nothing that interested him。

"I wouldn’t want to do any of these jobs," he said. "The pay is too low, and there’s no chance of advancement."

Chen is part of the reasons many factories in southern China’s Pearl River Delta, the nation’s biggest manufacturing base, are complaining about a severe shortage of workers。

There are many reasons for the shortage in once-booming coastal regions. Farm-friendly policies are keeping many on the land, while other migrants are finding jobs closer to home as poor interior provinces become more prosperous。

But another reason is the changing labor force: More than half of China’s working-age population consists of laborers like Chen, young people born in the 1980s and 1990s。

Many younger workers grew up with greater prosperity in families limited by the one-child policy. They are more used to getting their way。

"It’s true we’re less willing to eat bitterness," Chen said with a chuckle. "We’re better educated. We know we have rights."

Chen comes from a village outside Shaoguan city, in the less developed northern Guangdong Province, and went to a vocational high school。

He said he wants to build on his technical skills in a stable position that allows him to advance each year。

For many, a bigger paycheck might inspire them to shop more, which could be good news for Western companies。

American David Levy, who runs a electric cable factory in Dongguan, has witnessed the generational shift in China’s work force. He described the first waves of migrants, who plan to send most of their money home and eventually return to their village to build a house。

"They can actually look the boss in the eye when they’re talking. They don’t cower when the boss comes around. They’re becoming more and more like American workers. I like that."

【中文譯文】

工人陳慶海(音)邊看公司招工通知邊皺眉頭。公司產品從複印機、DVD驅動器到移動電話和汽車零件。這位19歲的青年找不到感興趣的工作。“我不想幹廣告中提供的任何工作”，他說，“工資太低，而且沒有發展，你只能陷在那裏。”

這是珠三角地區——中國最大的製造業基地——很多工廠老闆抱怨勞動力嚴重短缺的部分原因。

珠三角這些一度繁榮的沿海地區出現勞動力短缺的原因很多。“支農型”政策使很多人留在了他們的土地上，隨着內陸省份更加繁榮，其他農民工正在離家鄉更近的地方尋找工作。得到中國經濟刺激政策支持的基建工程也吸引了工人。但是，另外一個關鍵原因是正在發生變化的勞動力大軍：中國達到工作年齡的人口有超過一半的人是由像陳慶海這樣的勞動者所構成，他們是出生在20世紀八九十年代的年輕人。

他們的態度和期望與他們的父輩有天壤之別。父輩爲了很少的工資就會蹲在生產線上工作，他們把中國變成了一個製造業巨人。很多年輕工人不願幹他們的父母們所幹過的“血汗活”。他們的成長伴隨着家庭更大的富足。他們更習慣於我行我素。

“誠然，我們不太願意吃苦，”陳說，“我們受到更好的教育，我們知道自己的權利。時代已經變了。”陳來自廣東省欠發達的北部地區，上過職業高中。陳說，他的夢想是在一個能夠爲他提供未來職業前景的公司工作。

在中國開辦工廠的美國人大衛•利維見證了中國勞動力大軍所發生的“代際”轉變。他說第一撥農民工把大部分錢寄回家，最終回到家鄉蓋房子。他工廠裏5年前的照片記錄了一代人的變化，他說：“他們的行爲也不同了，談話時平視老闆。當老闆來到身邊時，他們也不畏縮。他們變得越來越像美國工人了。我喜歡這一點。”