Nannie auction for domestic bliss in China

Around 40 families showed up at an unusual auction in east China's Shandong Province to bid for the services of eight nannies.

Sunday's event in Jinan City was organised to focus public attention upon the growing demand in the domestic service industry and attract more workers.

The nanny services were sold for monthly wages ranging from 15,500 yuan (over $2,500) to 5,200 yuan, Xinhua reported.

The domestic service industry reemerged in the 1990s when urban Chinese families could afford to hire staff, including maids and nannies. Since then, domestic service has become an important part of urban family life.

Tian Hua, director of Shandong Tiangong Human Resource Service Centre, believes that demand for domestic helps will grow along with the economy, urbanisation and the relaxed birth control policy.

A bigger urban population and higher living standards mean people are paying attention to the quality of their family life, he said, especially for the care of the eldest and youngest family members.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, urbanisation in China last year reached 53.7 percent or some 730 million people.

Wan Zhong, director of Shandongdasao domestic service training service, hopes the new birth control policy will push up the demand for his trainees.

In December 2013, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, approved the decision to allow couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. The policy is already up and running in the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui.

Demand for domestic helps has led to a shortage in many parts of the country. In big cities, the income of a well qualified nanny is usually above 10,000 yuan, and according to a report by employment analysts zhaopin.com, the median monthly income for white-collar workers in Beijing is 5,453 yuan.

The National Bureau of Statistics reckons that the percentage of migrant workers working as domestic helps decreased from 12.7 percent in 2010 to 12.2 percent in 2012.

An investigation by the women's federation of northeast China's Liaoning Province last year showed demand for 800,000 servants in the province while only 300,000 workers were available in the marketplace.

To increase the workforce, conditions must be improved. Many are not provided with pensions and medical insurance, Tian Hua said.

There is also wage disparity in the sector. The income of a nanny is usually high, but the carers for the elder or sick only make around 2,400 yuan per month, he said.

Wan Zhong said that as the central government pays more attention to the home service industry, training will become more professional and complete, bringing wages to a more reasonable level.

Zheng Yujie of China Investment Corporation wants the government to defend the home service market with better laws and regulations to protect clients, home service organisations and workers.

According to a forecast for the home service industry issued by the State Council in 2010, the home service market and support organisations should be stable by 2015 with a balance between supply and demand.