Laborers want more than just higher wages

An employee works at a JD.com logistic centre in Langfang, Hebei province.[Photo/Agencies]

MANY EXPRESS DELIVERY companies have raised the wages for employees in a bid to recruit more workers to cope with the huge number of deliveries resulting from the Nov 11 online shopping sales. Hbnews.cn comments:

Facing a shortage of workers, most of the express delivery companies have raised the pay they offer to try and attract recruits. Yet this strategy has failed.

The express delivery companies have misunderstood the demands of their workers. Actually, express deliverymen and women earn quite a high wage compared with other physical laborers. Surveys show that they are unhappy with their job because of the "lack of recognition" and "bad job prospects".

The companies do not care about their workers, and all they want is for them to deliver as many goods as possible. Besides, many delivery companies do not provide ample training for their employees, and when the latter commit mistakes, they punish them harshly.

As a result, their workers feel no loyalty to their employers and resign at the busiest times.

The Singles Day shopping spree is only one of the occasions on which enterprises face a shortage of workers. Every year, when the Spring Festival holiday ends in February, manufacturing enterprises in eastern coastal provinces have a shortage of laborers, because the majority of their employees, who are from rural areas have their own land to tend to.

It is time these enterprises gave more consideration to their employees.