Migrant workers are still crowding into China's big cities. They dream of earning decent money despite the already overloaded workforce and meager wages. But these desperate people who work under already intolerable conditions have finally reached their limit. For ages they have patiently refrained from complaining and simply endured their lot -- until Shenzhen government authorities recently announced a planned adjustment in the city's minimum wage. Ironically, while authorities ponder this wage cut the daily cost of living throughout the city continues to soar.

If anyone has reason to wail about price hikes in China the migrant workers certainly do: all over China's big cities these people subsist on miniscule wages in exchange for Herculean labors.

Their misery has deepened in Shenzhen, an economic hub in China's southern Guangdong Province. The city's migrant workers felt deeply apprehensive when urban authorities ambiguously announced a minimum wage adjustment. And their wage worries compounded in light of the recent consecutive consumer goods price hikes.

The city's announcement has raised storms of protests among migrant workers getting by on an income of less than 1,000 yuan (US$130) per person each month. Instead of a still unknown wage cut they'd like a 20% wage increase.

"If prices keep rising, I'll hardly be able to afford a bowl of instant noodles," grumbled A Zao, a 27-year-old experienced electrician in Shenzhen. "If the government keeps or lowers the minimum wage, we won't be able to live in the city, much less support our families."

A Zao, a Sichuan native, came to Shenzhen in 1997, with dreams of earning enough money to support his village family. This single guy needs a decent amount of savings in the bank so he can renovate his rural house. For Chinese bachelors homes are essential: they provide comfort for aging parents and also act as a magnet for marriageable girls.

Earlier Zao did experience some golden times in Shenzhen when his highest payment hit 1,800 yuan (US$238) a month, a fat paycheck compared with other migrant workers. But his good times receded as other electricians thronged into the city, causing Zao's salary to decline.

The electrician has struggled with a lowered living standard; his budget is exactly 300 yuan (US$40) a month. He moved out of his factory apartment and rented cheaper digs, but it now takes him an extra 30-to-40-minutes to bike to work. He cooks for himself and often slurps instant noodles at night. But when instant noodle prices rose, Zao began seriously worrying about his future.

His efforts to save money in view of the rising cost of living are like squeezing blood from a stone. Zao can now barely live within his 300 yuan budget. "My parents still live in a leaky house built 60 to 70 years ago," he commented sourly.

Yet Zao is far more fortunate than those who come to the big city with little or no technical skills. Take Xiao Zhang for example, a man who hails from a rural village of Jiangxi Province. His hometown had provided him little education before he left there to seek his golden goose in Shenzhen. Now his dream seems absurdly naive, in light of the current cruel reality of price hikes.

Four years ago Xiao Zhang found himself a job as a furniture processor with a salary averaging less than 1,000 yuan (US$132) a month. He too experienced a honeymoon period in the city when his factory was in its heyday: Xiao Zhao was able to send 200 yuan (US$26) home, go skating and surf the Internet. But when the factory's business began declining consumer goods prices simultaneously began increasing. His salary now scarcely covers bare essentials. Currently he can't afford to cover his parents' extra expenses, let alone his own entertainment.

"My parents are growing older, and I still cause them worry. Their anxiety isn't about money but rather my life here," Xiao Zhang said, his eyes tearing in sadness. "I may leave Shenzhen to look for higher wages in Shanghai or Hangzhou. I need give it a go."

Job-hopping is quite popular among migrant workers who leave home to test their fortunes. Sometimes, their expectation for higher salaries and the easy life do come true, but not always.

Xiao Lu, a 21-year-old woman from Henan Province, one of China's most populous provinces, is one among many of the job hoppers in Shenzhen. She has switched jobs three times in five years. This woman got her first job as a factory worker using a fake ID card when she was still a teenager. She jumped from the domestic workshop to an overseas factory and then quit the 1000-yuan job to become a waitress in a café, earning only 700 yuan (US$92) a month.

"I'd rather to lead an easier life at a lower salary than a better paid life with little leisure time," explained Xiao Lu. Now, however, her cozy life has not met the challenges of current price hikes. Increased expenditures have goaded the young woman to stop by every job agency to hunt for new employment opportunities, such as saleswomen and shop assistants, because their salaries are higher than her current position.

Xiao Lu has not made a final decision yet. Several days ago a friend called her from home and reported that salaries there were comparable to what she currently earns in Shenzhen. This news has made the migrant woman hesitant -- should she remain in the city or to go back home? "I can't live in Shenzhen all my life. I need to go back home sometime. Maybe in the next fortnight, if I still cannot find a job here, I'll leave the city," Xiao Lu said.

Shenzhen is in continuous need of migrant workers but salaries simply are not competitive. On August 8, a few days after the city's baffling announcement of its salary adjustment, Guangdong Province revealed a counter plan that would raise the lowest minimum wage standards starting next year. Government officials have declined to disclose specific rates.

Guangdong province's minimum wage jumped by 17.8 percent last year, the highest ever to date. Yet the Chinese Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported a year-on-year growth of 4.4 percent in June this year, which has pressured low-income earners.

Monthly budget from A Lu

Here is the monthly budget from 33-year-old A Lu, a migrant worker who has lived in Shenzhen for 10 years. This is a typical example of migrant worker economics in Shenzhen:

• Housing rent, including water, electricity fees: around 250 yuan (US$33);
• Food: around 400 yuan (US$53, as compared to 200 yuan last year);
• Daily consumer necessities (including shampoo, soap and tooth paste): around 100 yuan (US$13);
• Telephone charges: around 50 yuan

A Lu's average salary is approximately 900 yuan a month. If he has a surplus, he hopes to send home subsidies to his parents and his son.

(China.org.cn by Wu Jin August 12, 2007)