Bridging the income gap

AN army of factory workers in China organising mass revolts, going on strike to demand for pay rises. These are common, but serious setbacks affecting mostly foreign-owned factories across various parts of the country, especially during the first half of the year.

Perceptibly, the string of labour unrests (which have since abated as employers bowed to workers demands) stemmed from a similar factor: workers, mainly poor rural migrants, were extremely frustrated with their persistently low wages (China is a low-cost factory for the world) that had rendered them poor living standards for many years.