Amid China’s economic downturn and high unemployment rate, a job posting from the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan for “janitors with an annual salary of over 80,000 yuan (RMB, hereinafter)” has sparked discussions.
On December 22, the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan announced on its official Weibo account that they are recruiting 5 janitors with an annual salary of 82,439 yuan.
The responsibilities of the janitors include cleaning and maintaining floors, doors, glass surfaces, restrooms, office furniture, ensuring all areas of the office are free of clutter and garbage. Janitors are expected to safely use cleaning products and equipment, replenish the water cooler with bottled water as needed, and properly collect and dispose of trash.
According to the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan, applicants must have completed elementary school education or higher, and have at least 6 months of cleaning or housekeeping work experience. In addition, they must possess basic English speaking, reading, and writing skills.
This job announcement has sparked discussions on mainland Chinese social media platforms.
Some joked, “I have years of experience cleaning windows during school cleanup, can I apply?” “I’ll work as a janitor for a year, can I get a U.S. visa?” “Do you hire graduates? I can start now.” “Stop talking, I want to be a janitor, I want to go.”
A Weibo influencer remarked, “The U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan is recruiting janitors with an annual salary of over 80,000, surprising netizens with the precise single-digit salary figure, and only requiring an elementary school degree. In contrast, Chinese companies often provide a vague salary range like 3K-10K, where the actual salary could be low or high, and often requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or higher. This demonstrates the practical utilitarianism and contractualism of universal values.”
Netizens calculated based on the salary information provided, “per annum means annual salary, with 40 hours per week, divided by 12, the approximate pre-tax salary is about 6,800, minus various insurance and social security deductions of around 5,300, plus provident fund of 1,600, giving a disposable income of around 7,000 per month.”
Previously, the treatment of employees by foreign and Chinese companies has repeatedly sparked debates.
In a wholly-owned Japanese enterprise, Canon’s printer assembly plant in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, officially ceased production on November 21. The compensation offered to Chinese employees was substantial, with a scheme of “2.5N + 1” (N representing the years of service compensation, exceeding the statutory standard of N + 1). Some employees received compensation amounts reaching tens of thousands of yuan.
A blogger noted the disparity where Japanese Canon employees received a one-time severance package of 630,000 yuan, with the factory even assisting employees in job recommendations; while in another case, older employees at a Chinese factory in Foshan fell into despair as the factory went on a long break and dissolved employees. Due to the company’s insolvency, employees fought legal battles for over a year, only receiving a little over 90,000 yuan from auctioning off a car, averaging to 699.4 yuan per person, not even enough for one month’s salary!
The blogger expressed that while foreign companies treat labor laws as a bottom line and provide extra benefits even in difficult business situations, domestic companies fail to fulfill even discounted compensation, leaving old employees with meager rewards for years of dedication. Canon employees can use the compensation to plan for their future, while Foshan employees have to struggle for a year over 699 yuan in compensation, ultimately lacking basic financial security. As workers, why the stark difference in fortunes?