Factory Workers Protest in Guangdong Province, China

China may be the workshop of the world, but young rural migrant workers have captured the world's attention by staging a surprise string of strikes in past weeks.

The vast and potentially powerful force are less accepting than their parents were of factory life - the low pay, the often grueling hours and occasionally martial workplace rules.

A female worker at a foreign-owned factory in Guangdong said she and her co-workers went on strike for improved working conditions - and more respect.

"It's because we feel it is not fair. It is too demanding for us. Even though the means we are using may not be appropriate, but it is about equal rights. Every citizen should be granted equal rights."

Another worker felt they had been betrayed by the company's managers during wage negotiations.

"Yes. They betrayed us for their own good."

Analysts differ on whether China has now reached its "Lewis Turning Point," the moment in a developing economy when once ample labor surpluses turn to shortages, and wages start to rise rapidly.

What's clear, though, is that with a rising aversion of China's younger generation towards dehumanizing factory work, the failure to address nationwide labor market imbalances through concerted policy action could hamper the productivity and growth of China's gargantuan export sector in the coming decade.