"The low-paid Chinese worker is at the mercy of an entirely unrestrained market. The jobs Hu does demand unpaid trial periods and have no base pay, and he works mainly for commission or a handling fee, which his employers can reduce on a whim. Disgruntled employees pick on each other, because going after the powerful will only cost us in the end. Experienced hands refuse to help newbies, on the grounds that teaching the disciple might starve the master."
"When his bosses learn that he has no children, that his parents have pensions and medical insurance and don't need his support, they worry that he will leave at a moment's notice (and are sometimes right). To his customers, Hu is just a blurred head on their video intercom The book's longest and most compelling section narrates Hu's time as a courier in Beijing, delivering parcels ordered online to workplaces or gated residential developments."
Hu Anyan moved between cities as an internal migrant, holding 19 poorly paid jobs including shop assistant, hotel waiter, petrol attendant and security guard. He earned more from those jobs than from trying to be a writer. Work conditions include unpaid trial periods, no base pay, and pay mainly by commission or handling fees that employers can reduce at will. Coworkers often police each other and experienced workers refuse to train newcomers. Employers fear workers who can easily quit because they lack family responsibilities. As a Beijing courier he often walked 30,000 steps and calculated he needed 0.5 yuan per minute, requiring a delivery every four minutes.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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