Thread: Good Kiwi buggers making stuff.

Originally Posted by Steve123

over worked chinese slave labour

This out of date idea of Chinese factory workers has to die.

Most workers in factories earn more after tax buying power per hour than someone doing the same job in NZ would, and the govt limits them to working 60 hours a week max-this is considered a short in China but even so most of the factory's I visit limit workers to 50 hours a week. There is a issue around workers using another if to work as two workers on different shifts but that's completely by choice.
China is no longer the cheep place to get things made, and things are made to the quality that the brand wants and enforces.

Personally I go out of my way to buy NZ stuff whenever possible

Originally Posted by res

This out of date idea of Chinese factory workers has to die.

Most workers in factories earn more after tax buying power per hour than someone doing the same job in NZ would, and the govt limits them to working 60 hours a week max-this is considered a short in China but even so most of the factory's I visit limit workers to 50 hours a week. There is a issue around workers using another if to work as two workers on different shifts but that's completely by choice.
China is no longer the cheep place to get things made, and things are made to the quality that the brand wants and enforces.

Personally I go out of my way to buy NZ stuff whenever possible

Yeah? Admittadly this report is a year old and there may have been an amazing change https://www.cnet.com/news/low-wages-...s-labor-group/
Also recent TV footage (last night even) of severe smog poisoning their workers belies a happy situation.

Originally Posted by zimmer

Yeah? Admittadly this report is a year old and there may have been an amazing change https://www.cnet.com/news/low-wages-...s-labor-group/
Also recent TV footage (last night even) of severe smog poisoning their workers belies a happy situation.

Yea

Some things in that article don't read true, laws (that get managers life sentences) are being broken if what is said is true.

Also, keep in mind that the total monthly pay quoted in the article is twice the average uneducated wage in shanghai (the city I live in and where the story is set).

The pollution issue is real, horribly so-but changes are happening even in this front, the last year has been better than the few before it in Shanghai going on us consulate records. Still bad, very very bad at times but yesterday the air was better in shanghai than Wellington for most of the day-I'm anal about the air with little kids so am checking it about ten times a day via the us consulate and my own meters at home and via apps.

Res I thought Tokyo was bad enough and they're not burning millions of tons of coal there.

Sorry OP getting OT

Originally Posted by res

This out of date idea of Chinese factory workers has to die.

Most workers in factories earn more after tax buying power per hour than someone doing the same job in NZ would, and the govt limits them to working 60 hours a week max-this is considered a short in China but even so most of the factory's I visit limit workers to 50 hours a week. There is a issue around workers using another if to work as two workers on different shifts but that's completely by choice.
China is no longer the cheep place to get things made, and things are made to the quality that the brand wants and enforces.

Personally I go out of my way to buy NZ stuff whenever possible

Culture is a funny thing in that nobody understands anyone else's culture. A good example of this is a western reporter going to the Foxconn \ Apple factory, seeing workers asleep at the production line and concluding that they are being worked so hard that they fell asleep at their desks. The actual truth of the matter is that it's fairly normal in China to go out for a massive two hour lunch and then have a wee nana nap at your desk afterwards. You keep a pillow under your desk for this purpose.

Whereas here in the western world falling asleep at work is considered a sign of weakness so we make junior doctors work 50 hours straight making life or death decisions without a nap. We make white collar workers fuel themselves on caffeine to push past their mid afternoon sleepy time despite the impact on productivity. Somehow that's better because it's our culture and we understand it.

Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

Culture is a funny thing in that nobody understands anyone else's culture. A good example of this is a western reporter going to the Foxconn \ Apple factory, seeing workers asleep at the production line and concluding that they are being worked so hard that they fell asleep at their desks. The actual truth of the matter is that it's fairly normal in China to go out for a massive two hour lunch and then have a wee nana nap at your desk afterwards. You keep a pillow under your desk for this purpose.

Whereas here in the western world falling asleep at work is considered a sign of weakness so we make junior doctors work 50 hours straight making life or death decisions without a nap. We make white collar workers fuel themselves on caffeine to push past their mid afternoon sleepy time despite the impact on productivity. Somehow that's better because it's our culture and we understand it.

Well said, so true. Bakewell Burners (if I hadn't already said that).

And by no means supporting Chinese made over NZ stuff but the degree of quality or by reverse "cheapness" is determined by the client. They will build to whatever quality/cost the client dictates. The issue is then mainly with the buyer if they are willing to accept the price of quality be it made on shore or off shore. There are for example good and very bad scopes coming out of China.

Originally Posted by zimmer

And by no means supporting Chinese made over NZ stuff but the degree of quality or by reverse "cheapness" is determined by the client. They will build to whatever quality/cost the client dictates. The issue is then mainly with the buyer if they are willing to accept the price of quality be it made on shore or off shore. There are for example good and very bad scopes coming out of China.

Chinese will definitely build you what you want at the price point you want

Thats the issue, most Kiwi businesses seem to operate on the build it as cheap as you can and sell it for the absolute maximum can and then if it fails either replace it begrudgingly with a lot of moaning or totally ignore the customer/walk away.

I wont buy locally produced hunting clothing now both the fit and quality is rubbish. its no good getting your rooted dodgy boots replaced with another pair of the same, when you hobble back after they failed during a hunt

American companies know what customer service generally is and excell at it.

Originally Posted by res

This out of date idea of Chinese factory workers has to die.

Most workers in factories earn more after tax buying power per hour than someone doing the same job in NZ would, and the govt limits them to working 60 hours a week max-this is considered a short in China but even so most of the factory's I visit limit workers to 50 hours a week. There is a issue around workers using another if to work as two workers on different shifts but that's completely by choice.
China is no longer the cheep place to get things made, and things are made to the quality that the brand wants and enforces.

Personally I go out of my way to buy NZ stuff whenever possible

I disagree, I see shit powertools and machinery from China everyday, I also believe that shit is so cheap it's either slave labour with no Health and Safety or care for most workers or it is all being subsidised by the chink govt! Can't say there's not good profit for the importers thou, priced a motor for a Hobart mixer the other day, cheap Chinese job, single phase, 0.75 kw, $4173.00 + GST ex the U.K... FFS we rebuilt it, the stator had moved, top quality for sure