(ECNS) -- It is estimated that nearly 30 percent of laborers working at plants in southern Chinese manufacturing hub Dongguan are students who toil under poor conditions, Beijing Youth Daily reports.
Alongside low-paid rural migrants, underage workers are also hired by local electronics factories, while most students are recruited regardless of their major to address the labor shortage facing the whole Pearl River Delta Region.
Teachers from vocational schools introduce pupils to local employment agencies, which then help them apply for jobs, but many students are forced to work overtime and have their wages withheld, according to the newspaper's investigation.
Many work-study programs can be beneficial and are also encouraged by China's Ministry of Education. However, there is a growing trend of young, vulnerable students being treated merely as commodities exchanged between schools in desperate need of funds and factories in need of short-term, low-cost labor.
"These students are normally introduced by their teachers by way of an internship, and normally work for six months or longer," a director at an agency said.
Although this relationship usually benefits factories and schools, it clearly does not always benefit students. Most feel bored by these migrant-worker days, with one saying "I would definitely not work here after graduation."
Most supply chain workers last less than six months in a job, which means the employee turnover rate is amazingly high. By contrast, assembly line workers in developed countries normally boast decades of work experience.
One expert said the employment issue has become a "bottleneck for the development of Chinese manufacturing." If the problem of labor employment is not tackled, it could have serious implications for the upgrading and restructuring of the manufacturing sector, the report added.
