Photo:IC

Wang Jinsong, 42, stands in front of an assembly line and skins the legs of cattle from 7 am to 4 pm in a slaughterhouse in Adelaide, Australia.

Lured by the opportunity to earn higher wages and the chance to receive permanent Australian residency after working in the country for four years, Wang flew across the equator from China in late 2014 to work in an abattoir.

He told the Global Times that he has to skin two cows every minute. He skins about 850 cattle every day.

Wang is one of the millions of Chinese laborers who have chosen to work overseas, against the backdrop of a highly competitive domestic job market where the supply of workers exceeds demand.

The Ministry of Commerce revealed that 167,000 Chinese people went to work abroad between January and April 2015. Australia is one of the most popular destinations, according to the People's Daily.

Chinese workers, most of whom lack a high level of competence in foreign languages, travel to Australia after paying hefty brokerage fees and receiving strenuous English language lessons. However, the long journey was just the beginning of more toilsome but wealthier life.

Looking for a new life

Australia, with a population of 23.8 million, has suffered from acute skilled workers shortages and witnessed a large influx of skilled laborers from China before the Australian government began to demand that subclass 457 temporary work visa applicants achieve high International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test scores in 2007.

Subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for four years in the country have the opportunity to obtain permanent residency in Australia through a temporary residence transition program, according to Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Xiaoli township, Shandong Province which has a population of 50,000, saw of its some 1,000 residents move to Australia over the past decade, working in a variety of occupations including welders, carpenters, boiler technicians and abattoir workers. About 400 of them have become permanent residents of Australia, the Qilu Evening News reported in 2013.

"Most candidates are manual workers and technicians," said Chen Yuliang, general manager of the Shandong-based Qingdao Syndicate International Economic & Technical Cooperation that recommends qualified workers to Australian firms, adding that there are also a few white-collar workers and small business owners looking to move down under.

"The majority of the candidates want to immigrate to Australia, since temporary work visas provide a cheaper way when compared to investment visa programs," Hu Wenjie, a manager at Shanghai Yijiu business consultancy company, said.

Brokerage fees, including language and technical training costs, visa application fees charged by the Australian government, as well as legal consultation fees, mean the total cost to applicants ranges from 200,000 yuan ($32,000) to 300,000 yuan, according to Chen and Hu.

Wang, who worked in a State-owned enterprise for over a decade and then in an abattoir in Shandong, quit his job with a monthly salary of some 5,000 yuan to search for prospects in Australia.

Now he earns A$3,600 a month. Subtracting his weekly rent of A$100 and other daily expenses from his total income, he expects to save some 150,000 yuan a year.

However, he is still not overjoyed about his future prospects given the unfamiliar environment and work.

"I have not planned to take my wife and child to Australia yet," Wang said.

He said skinning cattle demands immense strength. "It is much more difficult than I expected, although I had thought I was ready for the hard work before I departed for Australia."

"Many workers think working in slaughterhouses is easy as it requires relatively few skills and little work experience. However, some of them found it so laborious that they ran away without resigning days after starting work," Chen said.

Language barrier

In July 2007, the Australian government began to impose English language requirement on certain subclass 457 visa applicants, demanding an average score of 4.5 in the IELTS test. The minimum language requirement increased from 4.5 to 5 in the IELTS test for trade occupations and chefs, the Parliament of Australia announced in 2012.

The IELTS score has since become the biggest obstacle for Chinese workers, said a manager surnamed Liu in a Shenyang-based consultancy company.

Both Chen and Hu revealed that workers in Fujian Province often apply for subclass 457 visa with fake IELTS scores. "Influenced by a recent investigation by Australia into some applicants, my company only sent some 10 workers abroad between 2014 and now," Chens said.

In order to help applicants perform well in the IELTS test, Chen offered them six-month-long English language training programs, charging around 15,000 yuan. They study from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm every day.

Chen recommends applicants aged above 38 not to apply to work in Australia due to their enormous difficulty in learning English.

Wang said he did not speak English often. His daily life mostly involves skinning cattle silently and sleeping, he explained.

"When Australian butchers taught me how to skin cattle, I learnt more from what they did, instead of listening to their instructions," he said.

Future plans

Li Weili, 32, who came to Australia in 2009 after her husband moved to the country to work as a welder, obtained permanent Australian residency in late 2010.

Li told the Global Times that she was satisfied with her current lifestyle as she can completely support herself. She bought a house in Gold Coast, Queensland after working as a freelance tour guide in the coastal city as it is popular with tourists.

"It is easy to make money in Australia as long as you do not mind working hard … although I only have an elementary-school education and could not speak English at all upon my arrival in Australia," Li said.

Li said she has done a variety of jobs, including being a waitress, painter, cleaner and masseuse.

Every day she earned around A$150, she recalled.

She said she can manage her time as she wishes now. "Once I make enough money, I will travel and play with my 3-year-old son. When I spend my savings, I will go out to work again," she said, with excitement that is easy to hear in her voice.