How much courage does it take for a person to quit his or her job? If you're a migrant factory worker in the Pearl River Delta - which suffers perpetually from a shortage of labour - you might have to throw yourself out of the window of your boss's office to prove that you really want to leave. That's what Shenzhen worker Zhong Yuqin did last month.
The 21-year-old employee of a leather factory in Shenzhen leaped from her manager's office on the fifth floor after he turned down her resignation request for the second time. The daring act convinced the management to let her leave. Ms Zhong broke a leg and suffered some bruising, but her fall was apparently broken by awnings on the lower floors. The factory paid all her medical expenses.
The woman first tried to quit at the end of last year, so she could be near her boyfriend in their home town. But management refused, persuading her to stay. Six months later, Ms Zhong again became homesick and begged the manager to allow her to return home by October of this year.
Her boss rejected the application, saying there were too many people resigning just then. She might have to wait for a year before they could start processing her request, he said. So, feeling desperate, she jumped out of the window.
Ms Zhong's case may be a bit extreme, but it is by no means uncommon here in the Pearl River Delta. During my reporting of many workers' protests, one of the most frequently heard complaints - together with low salaries and harsh work environments - is the difficulty of resigning.
It is common knowledge that factories in the region have had problems recruiting suitable workers for some time. The situation is getting better, or worse, depending on whom you talk to, but everyone agrees it's difficult to retain skilled staff.
