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China Wages and Benefits
Much of any worker's total compensation (wages, benefits, and
official and unofficial perquisites) is determined by membership in
a particular work unit. There is considerable variation in the
benefits associated with different work units. Although the wage
structure is quite egalitarian when compared with those of other
countries, wages are only part of the picture
(see Income Distribution
, ch. 5). Many of the limited goods available in China
cannot be bought for money
(see Retail Sales
, ch. 8). Rather, they
are available only to certain favored work units. Housing is an
obvious example. Many collective enterprises may have no housing at
all or offer only rudimentary dormitories for young, unmarried
workers.
High-level administrative cadres and military officers may earn
three or four times more than ordinary workers; in addition, the
government often grants them superior housing, the unlimited use of
official automobiles and drivers, access to the best medical care
in the country, opportunities for travel and vacations, and the
right to purchase rare consumer goods either at elite shops or
through special channels. Although China is a socialist state, it
is not exactly a welfare state. Pensions, medical benefits, and
survivors' benefits are provided through work units and come out of
the unit's budget. The amount and nature of benefits may vary from
unit to unit. The state, through local government bodies, does
provide some minimal welfare benefits, but only to those with no
unit benefits or family members able to support them.
Retirees who have put in twenty-five or thirty years in a
state-run factory or a central government office can expect a
steady pension, most often at about 70 percent of their salary, and
often continue to live in unit housing, especially if they have no
grown children with whom they can live. In many cases, workers have
been able to retire and have their children replace them. In other
cases, some large state enterprises have started smaller sideline
or subcontracting enterprises specifically to provide employment
for the grown children of their workers. In contrast, peasants and
those employed in collective enterprises generally receive no
pensions and must depend on family members for support.
Data as of July 1987
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