» Posted by Martin Weil on June 08, 2007

"The combined wages of 20 [skilled] workers here come to only $40,000 a year at the current exchange rate of 7.65 yuan to the dollar. That is in the range of annual base pay for one unionized auto parts worker in the United States and comparable to two nonunion American auto parts workers....

The company's wages of $170 a month remain respectable by the standards of this gritty refinery city of 800,000 in northeastern China. A small apartment without modern amenities like a refrigerator or air-conditioning rents for as little as $40 a month, while even a large meal at the restaurant of the city's best hotel costs less than $3.

Jobs at Wonder Auto are much sought after and turnover is almost zero, said Sun Shaohua, 30, who strips copper wires for alternators, the devices that take mechanical energy from the engine and turn it into electricity to recharge the battery.

"Many people come, but nobody ever leaves," he said."

from today's NY Times (registration required)

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