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by beaunative
1630 days ago
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I think the whole fiasco about labor regulation is as misinformed as most other issues about other countries are presented in the US. China's labor protection isn't ideal. However, the US has its own share of failures when it comes to labor protection. China arguable has better protection when it comes to mandatory severence pay and most workers don't work by the hours, or depend on the tips to survive. On the other hand, China don't have hyper-active unions, overtime limits are not strictly enforced. However, I remember reading a piece about a janitor in San Francisco who worked so many hours he's getting paid more than a regular programmer. So when it comes to that, regulations can't do much when someone's determined to get that overtime . The core thing is, however, a lot more Chinese workers are willing to work that overtime and get that extra pay without complains, and the cost of living is simply way lower. For an outsider, $15 per hour in the bay may seem high, but even if you work the full hours, you can save very little after housing and food. However, those workers in China are housed, fed, and they get to save all that they get. |
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The US has mandatory unemployment insurance which serves the same purpose, and none of the jobs that get paid in tips are in manufacturing.
Also, waitstaff in the US in practice generally get paid more than minimum wage, because the ones whose service is so poor they can't get more than that in tips will quit and take a job where tips aren't part of the compensation.
> The core thing is, however, a lot more Chinese workers are willing to work that overtime and get that extra pay without complains, and the cost of living is simply way lower.
The cost of living, especially the cost of housing, is certainly a major factor. But that's still a regulatory failure, because in that case the cause is zoning regulations.