I usually work in the service industry, but because there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy there and for some other reasons, I hadn’t kept a labor diary before. However, in the past two months or so, I have been working in shifts at a foreign-owned chemical factory. This is my first time actually becoming a worker laboring in a factory, so I plan to record everything I see and feel throughout the entire process from joining to leaving, and post it in this thread for everyone to discuss and refer to.
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6/3
After the interview and a simple medical examination, I went to complete the onboarding process. The medical exam cost 200 yuan, which was expensive, but they said it would be reimbursed together with the first month’s salary, so I went ahead with it. When signing the contract, things were very vague. Originally, I told the agency I wanted to work in the chemical preparation position, with 8-hour three-shift rotations, five days on, two days off (a very rare labor condition, though the salary was low accordingly). However, the on-site agency representative said I was registered as a packaging worker with 12-hour flexible shifts. I told him that if it wasn’t 8 hours, I wouldn’t work. Another colleague, A, who interviewed at the same time, had the same issue: he was supposed to have an 8-hour position, but the agency said he had to be a packaging worker, and he also said he wouldn’t work if it wasn’t 8 hours. Then, magically, the on-site agency created two positions for us in the preparation role, saying most people want to be packaging workers to earn more money (the factory’s wages are also confusing: 8-hour three-shift work pays 20 yuan/hour, but 12-hour flexible shifts pay 19 yuan/hour, which is even lower, blatantly suppressing wages). We were very firm at that time; maybe the agency saw we were not easy to fool. Also, if they let us go, we would demand the 200 yuan medical exam fee back. Plus, there were probably still vacancies in the factory, so they finally let us work in preparation. Another colleague, B, initially wanted an 8-hour job but did not insist firmly from the start, so he was assigned to a 12-hour position. Later, he also requested 8 hours from the agency. Indeed, dealing with factory bosses, agencies, and other capitalist lackeys is tough. Without a fighting attitude and firm speech, it is hard to claim rights that should be yours. But be cautious because these outsourcing companies theoretically have the power to adjust outsourced employees’ positions at will. Although they say in foreign companies they won’t change positions, these people rarely tell the truth.
Signing the contract was also disgusting. Some parts were unclear, and they made you sign a voluntary waiver of the five social insurances and one housing fund (social security). If you don’t sign, they will pay on your behalf, but the salary will be heavily deducted, leaving almost nothing useful. But even if you sign this so-called voluntary waiver, according to Chinese labor law, it is illegal, and you can demand back payments through labor arbitration upon leaving. Later, because labor protection supplies were not provided, colleague A, B, and I were told to go home and wait for notice. But unfortunately, on the way back riding my electric bike, the tire suddenly went flat, causing me to lose control and fall badly, injuring my left knee joint and the palm of my right hand with large abrasions. Luckily, colleagues A and B were with me; after seeing me fall, they took me to the clinic and pharmacy and helped fix my bike. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do. The working class has strength when united; mutual help can solve difficulties in life.
But the clinic was very stupid, charging me 10 yuan registration fee and refusing to do wound cleaning, causing my wounds to remain unhealed as of 6/7. It was the pharmacy staff who eventually helped clean the wounds. The clinic doctors are government employees, but these Chinese civil servants are disgusting, completely negligent and careless with people’s lives. The worst was that the doctor said since I earn money with difficulty, wound cleaning would cost extra, so he refused to do it—utter stupidity. Lazy dogs who don’t serve the people but pretend to care for others, pure sycophants, disgusting.
The next time I go to the factory is 6/6, but there are some things to write and share later.
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It feels like the social security paid by Zhongxiu is indeed of little use. If social security is retroactively paid, the company will still recover the personal portion from the worker. Not paying social security is more often used to issue a “Forced Termination of Labor Relationship Notice” to legally expedite resignation (according to Zhongxiu labor law, if the company does not pay social security, employees have the right to resign at any time on this basis), and it may also be used to obtain a certain amount of economic compensation.
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It is indeed very useful in the “Forced Termination of Employment Notice” from SE, I had mentioned this in a notice for a certain milk tea shop before (the nominal wage at that milk tea shop was very low, even below the minimum wage of the city). However, I am learning about the matter of pursuing claims for the first time.
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6/6
Today was my first official day at work. This supervisor is outrageous—he only messaged me past 8 PM the night before telling me to come to work the next day. Last time, he even notified me at 1 AM to come in for onboarding, completely disregarding whether the time was suitable or if others would even see the message. Probably because he’s a supervisor, in this capitalist society with its hierarchy and exploitation system, he feels fearless—after all, he is “higher in rank” than the worker and can freely dispatch subordinates within his company. If workers don’t show up as he demands, he simply won’t give them work, since there is a large reserve army of labor in society (right now capital doesn’t have much demand for labor).
After arriving at the workplace, I swiped the employee card I got last time to enter, then met the supervisor by the locker room door. He told me to wait a moment, but after waiting more than ten minutes, he took the opportunity to schedule the plan for the next day. When he returned, I followed him to receive and change into my work clothes, and collected various labor protection supplies. Most were familiar to me, such as the dust-proof and filtering half masks. Some I’d seen but rarely used before, like safety helmets, chemical-resistant gloves, and anti-static shoes. Seeing these protective gear made me think this factory is well equipped—probably because it’s a foreign company and because it really is a chemical workshop. If severe industrial injuries occur, they would be held responsible. By contrast, many domestic factories don’t provide labor protection gear or provide very poor quality ones, and some even require workers to pay for them themselves, which is very reactionary and barbaric. However, I still don’t quite understand the phenomenon of “foreign companies having good treatment,” since many foreign companies, in theory, enter China to inject capital and build factories to take advantage of cheap labor costs and reduce their variable capital expenditure. I need to think more about this.
Then I learned about the workshop situation. Although mobile phones are forbidden, I secretly brought mine. Management didn’t seem very strict, so it’s still easy to find space to slack off. Then, looking at various equipment, I realized I had broadened my horizons. Although I consider myself an intellectual, I actually know nothing about modern industry, while these factory workers produce countless goods for people’s use. So without modern industry, especially without the proletariat, the entire human society would collapse. But the bourgeois still think they are the creators of history, look down on workers, and spread all kinds of disparaging remarks about them in society—truly both ridiculous and hateful.
Then the supervisor led me into the workshop to wait, so I briefly communicated with other workers there but didn’t have time to get to know them deeply. From a few words exchanged, I could preliminarily sense that these workers are somewhat backward or the oppression here isn’t very deep. The workers here (especially the regular ones) earn relatively high wages, and the labor intensity is not heavy (perhaps also because it’s the off-season). They often chat during production, with conversations about lowbrow interests, generally relaxed and comfortable. The neighboring packaging workshop has a high degree of automation, and the workers on the production line there seem pretty at ease. But these are just my initial impressions; further observation and communication are needed to really understand the situation and the workers’ thoughts. Later, with a coworker’s help, I learned how to use the manual forklift—it felt similar to driving a car, and I got the hang of it quickly.
After learning how to use the forklift, the supervisor took me to meet the chief engineer Z responsible for the production line. He immediately started probing for information—asked about my education, planned work hours, where I live and commute from, family background, and why I didn’t take over the family business (I concealed my educational and family background, lying that my family runs a small shop). He asked about work experience. I felt that Z, seeing me young and easily fooled, wanted to learn more about me to control me. He had a silly and arrogant intellectual vibe. When I said I had worked at a milk tea shop, Z spoke patronizingly, saying that they also “mix tea,” but “you add 5g of ingredients, we add 500kg.” Then he said that I respond well to others and am ‘clever,’ and took the chance to throw shade at other workers, saying some are like blocks of wood—trying to divide me from them. He and the supervisor also told me to work hard and not always think about switching jobs, saying otherwise I won’t earn much money, and to just work honestly for my salary—trying to tame me as a dedicated work machine. He said other things too, but I don’t remember them all. Overall, Z’s words carried a strong air of the intellectual’s “benevolence” (considering he is supposedly an engineer), seemingly caring for workers while actually scheming on how to make me produce on the production line. Also, as a foreign direct-hire manager, he’s either bourgeois or labor aristocracy — his speech had a rotten bourgeois flavor, just like my dad and his classmates, seeing themselves as successful high-class people and casually reprimanding those they consider lower socially.
The hardest to endure was when Z saw the wounds on my hands and feet from a fall on an electric scooter and told me to go rest and not to work, saying the foreign company’s “Top 10 Global Employer” reputation couldn’t be ruined here, trying to seem humane, which was very hypocritical! Actually, it’s currently the off-season and they don’t lack a newcomer like me. Also, since they produce pesticides, having exposed wounds on hands could easily cause industrial injuries and liability issues, so they don’t want me injured. So all this so-called “humane management” is nonsense; the bourgeois only do what benefits themselves. I wanted to eat before returning to the dorm, but found the canteen dishes weren’t ready yet and gave up.
While dealing with Z and the supervisor, I felt a bit of Confucian sickness in myself. I feared that when I apply to resign two months later, it would be troublesome; afraid that if I said I’d work long-term but only actually work just over two months, the factory’s bourgeois and their lackeys would use this against me; afraid of arguing and confrontation with them. Later, I realized Z and the supervisor are disgusting exploiters or those who share surplus value, and they often deceive workers about work conditions. So there’s nothing to be afraid of in breaking ties with them. This thought comforted me a little, but it will still take a long time to completely overcome my petty-bourgeois fear of difficulty and struggle.
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It seems that foreign companies generally offer better labor conditions and wage benefits compared to regular enterprises. This might be because labor in China is already cheaper than in their home countries. On this basis, slightly increasing wages actually helps them absorb a large workforce during peak production seasons. The small cost of raising wages can be fully compensated by the increased sales volume and the excess profit, or even monopoly profit, brought about by higher labor productivity.
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Actually, when I saw that my supervisor and I are from the same hometown, my Confucian sickness flared up. I felt it wouldn’t be good to conflict with him later. Actually, it’s just that I don’t dare to struggle, to deal with that kind of bourgeois social connections. In reality, being close or distant in class doesn’t matter; being from the same place doesn’t say much. Still, I have to remember he’s a capitalist, I am a worker, I am exploited by him.
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It is indeed true that the labor costs in foreign capitalist countries are originally higher than in China, so slightly higher wages and improved labor protections are not necessarily an increase in expenses. For example, in a somewhat developed state in the United States (if calculated according to the so-called GDP), the minimum hourly wage for non-tipped work is $10/hour. Converted to China, that is 72 RMB/hour, which is 52 RMB more than my current 20 RMB/hour. It is indeed very profitable for foreign capital even if working conditions and wages improve.
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When townsmen meet, a shot behind their backs. In fact, what is called ‘fellow townsman’ is completely meaningless; just because your speech accent is a little like theirs, they won’t consider you as kin. Indeed, it’s the class distinction you mentioned—close or not.
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Hello, may I ask why there is no follow-up?
It might be because I have been very busy at work recently.
Recently, my middle school class schedule has become quite intense, and I have also developed some mental issues. Today, I just reflected on my problems, and I will resume updates tomorrow.
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6/10
Today was the first day of officially going to work. After arriving at the factory, I first negotiated with my previous supervisor, then went directly to the workshop. Once there, I was immediately assigned to learn how to handle the chemical raw materials needed for production. I saw many things I hadn’t seen before, such as wearing some cumbersome protective suits. When I saw these things, I had a parasitic student and intellectual mindset, thinking “I’ve seen things I haven’t seen before,” which was a kind of “curiosity,” and I found it “interesting.” In fact, this was because I was not involved in production and didn’t realize how exhausting these operations could be, which led to these thoughts. In the following days, when I actually operated these things, I found that wearing protective suits was hot and tiring, and I didn’t want to wear them at all, and I also found it boring.
During the process of learning how to add materials, I encountered a worker aristocrat, who was also the first employee I interacted with here. At first, I didn’t know he was a worker aristocrat; I thought he was just an ordinary worker (although he was a formal worker, different from the outsourced workers introduced by the agency like me, which I will talk about later). I chatted with him a few words and found that he had a very rotten mindset, with deep ideas about private ownership in his mind. For example, when talking about the breathing headgear that matches the chemical protective suits, he said that if everyone had their own breathing headgear, then everyone could keep their gear very clean; but in reality, the breathing headgear was shared, so sometimes it wasn’t very clean because people wouldn’t take care of public property, only their private property. When I heard this, I thought such propaganda about human selfishness and self-interest was outrageous, but he said it was in line with the “basic laws.” I thought it was absurd, so I told him that private property doesn’t necessarily mean people will take good care of it, and people are not necessarily unkind to public property; this statement was completely wrong, but I didn’t elaborate. Then he said, “You’re right, you’re right,” to brush me off. Later, he was very disgusting, gossiping behind my back, saying that another coworker C, who graduated high school and came to work here, was not smart, saying that C “didn’t even take the college entrance exam” and was “clumsy” (while pointing to his head), then he told me that C, compared to me, “can’t speak as well” (probably because I didn’t understand the situation and was more “friendly” when I first spoke, influenced by my Confucian upbringing). I found this very disgusting. He was dividing and pulling between different outsourced workers, trying to flatter some and criticize others, and he basically didn’t do any work himself, only commanding me and another outsourced worker. I thought he might be a worker aristocrat. So I told him: “Wasn’t he (worker C) from school? Working here will help him learn to work, not as clumsy as you said. Aren’t you and others also starting from scratch to learn?” He didn’t reply directly but changed the subject, saying that worker C’s family had arranged for him to go to a specialized college, and he would be directly admitted. This was another disgusting unfounded slander, which made me speechless.
Later, I also learned how to clean the chemical production tanks and some other matters, such as how to operate a high-position forklift, and became more proficient with tools like wrenches. During work, I realized that I had indeed done very little in the factory and didn’t understand labor at all; I was very bookish and needed to change this situation. I also met an old worker (the other outsourced worker I mentioned earlier, let’s call him H). H had been working in this chemical plant for a long time, but he was an outsourced worker with a low salary and hard work, so he was much better off than the formal employees. From his attitude, it was obvious that he was very approachable and patient and accepting of us other outsourced workers. In contrast, most formal employees treated outsourced workers with impatience and looked down on them; a few better ones still had some estrangement. In a brief exchange before leaving work, I learned that H had previously worked in a factory in Shenzhen, then came to this city, and had been working in this factory for over five years. But we haven’t had further communication.
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6/11
In the morning, I continued to go to work in the rain. Actually, people who go to work are usually the most annoyed by rain, because most people commute by electric scooter (sometimes combined with the subway), and in such cases, rain becomes very troublesome. Getting wet and entering the factory or other workplaces makes you sticky and uncomfortable, and after work, you have to consider whether your clothes will dry by the next day, etc. However, some people, especially petty bourgeoisie, really ‘like rainy days’. I used to be like that myself, thinking that rainy days are very ‘melancholic’, have a certain ‘atmosphere’, especially when the bourgeoisie’s romantic ideals act up, wanting to flirt but failing, then rainy days seem to fit their ‘melancholy and autumn sadness’ feelings (also influenced by many bourgeois artistic works), so they ‘like rainy days’. Now I think this is entirely because the petty bourgeoisie, especially parasitic students who do not work, do not understand the hardships of working, and are full of bourgeois influence, thinking about the dying reactionary interests of their class and individuals. That’s why they like rainy days, which actually hinder the proletariat who have to work. But this is just a preliminary thought, and I haven’t figured out how some bourgeois artistic works connect rainy days with melancholy and autumn sadness. In fact, rainy days are not entirely bad; for example, during a drought, rainy days are very good.
Today was generally quite relaxed, not much work, but lots of tedious cleaning and screw tightening. I had never tightened screws before, and was not very skilled with the wrench, but with the help of a coworker, I learned some techniques like ‘diagonal tightening’ and ‘apply force evenly’. When I learned these skills, I felt that I was indeed too physically lazy before, and revolutionary fighters in history are actually masters of labor, which I am far from. However, tedious cleaning also provided some opportunities to slack off, so it’s not entirely bad. Additionally, I learned a bit more about other workers in the same workshop. On 6/10, the worker aristocrat (hereafter called Worker Noble Y) again took time to talk bad about coworker C, and occasionally said things like ‘you work quickly’, which felt like an attempt to divide and win over, very bad. During break, I talked with veteran worker H, and learned about some of his low-level hobbies to pass the time, like reading xianxia novels (talking about xianxia novels, I know this stuff is reactionary, but I never understood why it’s reactionary. If anyone understands, please explain), and watching short dramas. These things are quite corrupting, making people not think too much about politics or other matters outside work. So I feel this is also the source of some of his later negative and pessimistic thoughts. Later, I asked him why he doesn’t read books or other things, and he said he has ‘lived half his life’ (although he is only in his thirties), and just reads these to pass the time, ‘knowing it’s pointless’. Hearing this, I felt quite sad, thinking that the wrong ideas spread by the bourgeoisie to workers are really too pervasive, making many people dissatisfied but ultimately resigned. So I tried to tell him to read some books and learn, but I didn’t know how to say it properly, so it came out awkwardly, as if I hadn’t said anything. I also thought that most formal workers are ‘at peace with the world’ (actually because the worker aristocrats are living very comfortably), and I can’t communicate well with them. Therefore, transforming my own thoughts in this factory, and engaging with workers and spreading propaganda is not an easy task.
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The most main and reactionary point of Xianxia novels is that they detach from reality, having nothing to do with reality at all, and on the surface, they seem to have no political content. In fact, they serve bourgeois politics because they promote various idealism, heroism history views, genius theories, and the like, providing a supplement to detachment from reality, which makes them particularly reactionary.
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On the other hand, some xianxia (immortal hero) novels depict protagonists who are “born into poverty” or have “fallen from wealth,” which allows some proletarians and bankrupt petty bourgeoisie to “relate to” them. These novels also describe plots where characters encounter great luck, continuously “become stronger,” and are surrounded by a multitude of beauties who throw themselves at them, capturing the opportunistic thoughts of readers and immersing them in illusions—fantasizing that one day they too can live such a “life”—thus escaping the struggles of reality.
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I haven’t seen these, but if you say so, then it is indeed very harmful.
Chinese cultivation novels are mostly products of small-bourgeois fantasizing and wishful thinking. They reflect the mentality of the petty bourgeoisie wanting to rely on personal effort and chance to climb upward, aspiring to become part of the bourgeoisie. All cultivation novels share a mechanism of hierarchical ranking; in these worlds, characters can rely on cultivation techniques, genius treasures, and natural resources to gain higher magical power and gradually improve their “cultivation level.” Essentially, this is one of the core aspects of the capitalist worldview: the hierarchy system. In the novels, the higher the cultivation level, the stronger the strength, and the stronger the strength, the more respect, fame, wealth, status, and women one can gain—analogous to capital, financial resources, and influence in reality.
Many early cultivation novels feature protagonists born into poverty who work hard, receive guidance from mysterious masters, and through heroic deeds such as “hero saving beauty,” win the affection of beautiful women, ultimately reaching the peak of life.
Therefore, cultivation novels often depict protagonists fighting monsters to level up, and even killing and looting treasures. As long as it advances their cultivation, they are willing to do anything.
Most novels also portray how protagonists born into poverty are oppressed and bullied by higher-level characters when their cultivation is low, which then motivates them to strive harder. This serves as a vehicle to promote a reactionary bourgeois ideology of “self-interest first, the world be damned,” and selfishness as justified.
In fact, early novels often used the fictional cultivation world to reflect petty bourgeois ideas, political views, and dissatisfaction or satire regarding social injustices. However, overall, these novels mostly serve as reactionary art that propagates bourgeois ideology.
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Maybe you can talk with him about what he likes in the novel, discuss some of the plot points, help him analyze them, and let him understand the reactionary nature of these spiritual opiates. Tell him what the bourgeoisie’s purpose is in producing these opiates.
Now I have been reassigned, so I see him less often, but I can communicate with other workers about the news they usually watch and so on. Additionally, analyzing the nature of what the workers watch and discussing the behind-the-scenes of these spiritual opiates makes me feel sometimes I can’t get my words in. The reason I can’t insert myself into the conversation isn’t just because I’m not familiar enough, but also because I fear doing political disclosures with the workers and because I don’t know how to do political disclosures. I’m afraid that if I speak, the workers won’t listen, and I also feel that sometimes I come across as too scholarly. I’m also worried that I don’t understand Marxism-Leninism (or at least don’t understand much) and might propagate incorrect ideas.