【英语中国】FT社评：让中国劳动者共享繁荣

What are we to make of the labour unrest in China? Do the strike against Honda's joint venture parts maker and the spate of suicides at Foxconn, the contract manufacturer, mark the end of the cheap labour era? Probably not. But China is changing.

Here, to underline this fact, is the opening of a recent story in China Daily: “The proportion of China's gross domestic product that goes toward wages has been shrinking for 22 consecutive years, a senior trade union official said on Wednesday.” The killer fact was that the share of wages and salaries in GDP dropped to a mere 37 per cent in 2005, from 57 per cent in 1983, and remained static since then. The story also reported the official's warning that “low pay, long working hours and poor working conditions for millions of workers are triggering conflicts and mass incidents, which pose a grave challenge to social stability”.

The remarkably low share of wages and salaries in GDP makes China the most “capitalist” large economy in history. Until this is reversed, the much-desired shift to a consumption-driven economy cannot occur. China's demand will continue to depend, instead, on soaring investment. But the resulting high capital intensity is also a reason for the declining share of wages in GDP. Equally significant is official discussion of the case for higher minimum wages. The strike at the Honda plant could hardly have happened without official acquiescence.

Yet what does this imply for the future? The freedom to strike is, in western eyes, a fundamental right. The case for ensuring minimum standards in the treatment of workers is strong. But it is crucial to remember that those with jobs in large factories in successful coastal regions are among the more privileged Chinese. The big challenge is to spread higher incomes across the whole country.

To achieve this, there has to be fundamental reform. This must include: shifting labour-intensive industry from coastal regions, supporting rapid growth of labour-intensive services, repricing underpriced capital, giving households a bigger share of the return on capital, via higher interest rates, creating stronger social safety nets and increasing direct spending on health and education services.

Over time, a better balanced economy, with higher wages and standards of living, will emerge. Throughout, policy makers cannot forget the overriding aim of generating more and better employment opportunities for the population as a whole, not just for a minority.

我们应如何看待中国出现的劳资纠纷？本田(Honda)合资零部件厂发生的罢工、以及代工制造商富士康(Foxconn)发生的一系列自杀，是否标志着廉价劳动力的终结？很可能不是。但中国正在变化。

近日《中国日报》(China Daily)一篇报道的开头突显了上述事实：“一名工会高级官员周三表示，劳动报酬在中国国内生产总值(GDP)中所占比重已经连续22年下降。”关键事实是，劳动报酬在中国GDP中所占比重从1983年的57%，降至2005年的区区37%，且此后一直停留在这个水平。《中国日报》的报道还援引那名官员的警告称，“数以百万计的工人收入水平低、劳动时间长、工作条件差，这种局面正在引发冲突和群体性事件，对社会稳定构成严重挑战”。

劳动报酬在GDP中所占比重如此之低，使中国成为历史上最“资本主义的”大型经济体。如果不扭转这一局面，向消费驱动经济的必要转型就不会发生。相反，中国的需求将继续依赖于飙升的投资。但这样造成的高资本密集度，也是劳动报酬在GDP中所占比重下降的一个原因。同样具有重大意义的是，中国官方在讨论提高最低工资的利弊。没有官方的默许，本田工厂是不太可能发生罢工的。

但这一切对未来意味着什么？在西方人眼里，罢工的自由是一项根本权利。保障最低标准的工人待遇，理由也十分充足。但有必要记住，那些在繁荣的沿海地区的大型工厂有职位的人，在中国人当中待遇算是较好的。大的挑战是将较高的收入扩散至全国各地。

要做到这一点，就必须进行根本的改革。这必须包括：将劳动力密集的产业从沿海地区向内陆地区转移；支持劳动力密集型服务的快速增长；通过提高利率，给价格被低估的资本重新定价，让家庭享有更大份额的资本回报；创建更强有力的社会保障体系；以及增加医疗和教育服务的直接支出。

随着时间的推移，一个更均衡的经济（劳动报酬和生活水平都更高）将会显现。在此过程中，政策制定者不能忘记压倒一切的目标：为全体中国人（而非少数人）创造更多更好的就业机会。

译者/和风