Auto supplier faces another strike
Source: Agencies |
June 19, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A PARTS supplier for Japan's Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday it was dealing with its second strike this week, the latest in a rash of factory labor disputes spreading across China.
The chance of more industrial action also loomed over a Honda plant in the southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong Province, where workers were waiting for a new pay offer before deciding whether to resume a strike they suspended on Tuesday.
Parts supplier Toyoda Gosei said production had stopped since Thursday afternoon at a plant in the northern Tianjin City, where it makes parts like instrument panels. A separate stoppage halted work at another Toyoda Gosei plant in Tianjin on Tuesday. While management said output is back to normal after they promised to discuss wages, some workers there maintained they are still striking or on a go-slow.
In southwest China's Chongqing City, a short strike at Chongqing Brewery Co Ltd ended yesterday after talks, said Danish brewer Carlsberg, a part owner of the plant.
Workers feared that a plan by Carlsberg to raise its stake in the firm to nearly 30 percent would threaten their benefits, a local official told Reuters by telephone.
"There was not good enough communication to the employees about the agreement," said Carlsberg spokesman Jens Bekke.
Relations between Japanese auto firms and their Chinese units and suppliers can be more complicated than those of other foreign investors, an expert said.
"In our investigations, we consistently found that the most tense relations were with the Japanese and South Korean partners," said Wen Xiaoyi, a researcher at the China Institute of Industrial Relations in Beijing who specializes in automotive labor relations.
"You find the Japanese and South Korean companies are much more involved in managing production at the factories. Also, they don't have a tradition of collective bargaining or give-and-take in their Chinese factories," Wen said.
In Guangdong, workers at a factory which makes locks for Honda Motor downed tools last week but agreed on Tuesday to go back to work until yesterday on the understanding management would present them with an improved deal on wages and benefits.
Negotiations between management and employee representatives continued to show signs of strain, workers said, and some were willing to resume striking.
"If it's not acceptable, we're prepared to strike again," said one female worker among a largely reticent crowd streaming in for morning shift in the Pearl River Delta town of Zhongshan.
The strike at Honda Lock, which makes locks, mirrors and wheel sensors, is the third to hit an auto parts supplier for the giant Japanese carmaker in recent weeks.
Workers at Honda Lock said spreading word of successful strikes at other Honda auto parts suppliers had inspired them to agitate for improved compensation as living costs rise.
The chance of more industrial action also loomed over a Honda plant in the southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong Province, where workers were waiting for a new pay offer before deciding whether to resume a strike they suspended on Tuesday.
Parts supplier Toyoda Gosei said production had stopped since Thursday afternoon at a plant in the northern Tianjin City, where it makes parts like instrument panels. A separate stoppage halted work at another Toyoda Gosei plant in Tianjin on Tuesday. While management said output is back to normal after they promised to discuss wages, some workers there maintained they are still striking or on a go-slow.
In southwest China's Chongqing City, a short strike at Chongqing Brewery Co Ltd ended yesterday after talks, said Danish brewer Carlsberg, a part owner of the plant.
Workers feared that a plan by Carlsberg to raise its stake in the firm to nearly 30 percent would threaten their benefits, a local official told Reuters by telephone.
"There was not good enough communication to the employees about the agreement," said Carlsberg spokesman Jens Bekke.
Relations between Japanese auto firms and their Chinese units and suppliers can be more complicated than those of other foreign investors, an expert said.
"In our investigations, we consistently found that the most tense relations were with the Japanese and South Korean partners," said Wen Xiaoyi, a researcher at the China Institute of Industrial Relations in Beijing who specializes in automotive labor relations.
"You find the Japanese and South Korean companies are much more involved in managing production at the factories. Also, they don't have a tradition of collective bargaining or give-and-take in their Chinese factories," Wen said.
In Guangdong, workers at a factory which makes locks for Honda Motor downed tools last week but agreed on Tuesday to go back to work until yesterday on the understanding management would present them with an improved deal on wages and benefits.
Negotiations between management and employee representatives continued to show signs of strain, workers said, and some were willing to resume striking.
"If it's not acceptable, we're prepared to strike again," said one female worker among a largely reticent crowd streaming in for morning shift in the Pearl River Delta town of Zhongshan.
The strike at Honda Lock, which makes locks, mirrors and wheel sensors, is the third to hit an auto parts supplier for the giant Japanese carmaker in recent weeks.
Workers at Honda Lock said spreading word of successful strikes at other Honda auto parts suppliers had inspired them to agitate for improved compensation as living costs rise.
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