The salary of a Beijing blue collar worker is reportedly higher than that of
a white collar counterpart in many sectors, according to a new investigation
conducted by Beijing Youth Daily.
The newspaper reveals that a bus driver in Beijing can earn as much as 8000
yuan per month, while the monthly salary for a seasoned noodle puller can reach
as high as 12,000 yuan. The noodle chef is required to repeatedly stretch a
piece of wheat-flour dough, folding it over and stretching again. The average
salary for a restaurant chef ranges between 5000 yuan and 8000 yuan (after
taxes) based on the recruitment website ganji.com.
The investigation results echo the Guidance Wage Levels issued by the Beijing
Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security recently. This year,
salaries in these seemingly low-end blue collar jobs enjoy a significant
increase as compared with last year.
Wang Xiaohong, a senior manager from ganji.com, believes that poor
reputation, toil and special skills in blue collar jobs have led to the high
salaries, stressing it could be a future trend.