Faced with a serious labor shortage during the Spring Festival holidays, the Chinese e-commerce supplier Suning Tesco has reportedly started recruiting foreign students to serve as part-time couriers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing and Chengdu.
In an article published last week, China Business News quoted a Suning Tesco delivery worker as saying that all foreigners will be trained in basic Chinese and gestures before beginning work.
What the paper doesn’t report are the wages and hours Suning Tesco will be paying. While delivery services in China are known for their low prices and quick turnaround, such efficiency and economy comes at the expense of the low-paid, overworked migrants who make up the kuaidi workforce. A recent Financial Times article estimated the average kuaidi salary to be around RMB5000 per month, but with workdays that can stretch to up to 17 hours during peak season. Some companies have been known to dock pay for minor offenses, such as delivery packages too early or even knocking on doors too loudly.
[Image via PDP Solutions]
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