Strike at electronics firm hits third day
By Tini Tran |
July 2, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WORKERS at a Japanese-owned electronics factory in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin struck over pay and benefits for a third day yesterday, the latest in a rash of labor disputes as workforce demanding better conditions.
More than 100 workers in green uniforms, mostly women, were standing and sitting on the steps leading into the Tianjin Mitsumi Electric factory, which makes parts for electronic appliances. Its entrance was blocked by two police buses and the area swarmed with dozens of plainclothes security officials.
Handwritten signs posted on the factory gates called on owners to "Return Our Blood Money," and give workers a fair wage.
Migrant laborers who have traditionally accepted low-paying assembly line jobs are having some success in extracting higher pay and better working conditions from foreign companies amid a tight labor market as China's economy booms.
Another reason for the new assertiveness lies in the youthfulness of many current workers.
Growing up in a time of relative prosperity in China, they refuse to simply eke out a modest living like those before them, but instead expect conditions more in line with their foreign counterparts.
Tiring workload
"We're on strike because the factory has never increased our wages and they keep increasing our workload. It's too tiring," a worker, who gave only her surname Wang, told The Associated Press by cell phone.
In Tokyo, Mitsumi Electric Co spokesman Yoshitsugu Murakami said production at its Tianjin factory has been stopped since Tuesday, apparently after factory workers walked out, demanding improved working conditions.
Workers at the factory ?? which employs about 2,800 people ?? are unionized and they have submitted a list of requests, which Murakami declined to elaborate on. Company officials are trying to assess the situation.
Factory managers called workers yesterday and told them not to report to work, Wang said. But she was unsure whether negotiations were on and whether to go to work today.
Another worker told Xinhua news agency that a new hire makes 1,500 yuan (US$220) a month, working six days a week with two hours of overtime every day.
More than 100 workers in green uniforms, mostly women, were standing and sitting on the steps leading into the Tianjin Mitsumi Electric factory, which makes parts for electronic appliances. Its entrance was blocked by two police buses and the area swarmed with dozens of plainclothes security officials.
Handwritten signs posted on the factory gates called on owners to "Return Our Blood Money," and give workers a fair wage.
Migrant laborers who have traditionally accepted low-paying assembly line jobs are having some success in extracting higher pay and better working conditions from foreign companies amid a tight labor market as China's economy booms.
Another reason for the new assertiveness lies in the youthfulness of many current workers.
Growing up in a time of relative prosperity in China, they refuse to simply eke out a modest living like those before them, but instead expect conditions more in line with their foreign counterparts.
Tiring workload
"We're on strike because the factory has never increased our wages and they keep increasing our workload. It's too tiring," a worker, who gave only her surname Wang, told The Associated Press by cell phone.
In Tokyo, Mitsumi Electric Co spokesman Yoshitsugu Murakami said production at its Tianjin factory has been stopped since Tuesday, apparently after factory workers walked out, demanding improved working conditions.
Workers at the factory ?? which employs about 2,800 people ?? are unionized and they have submitted a list of requests, which Murakami declined to elaborate on. Company officials are trying to assess the situation.
Factory managers called workers yesterday and told them not to report to work, Wang said. But she was unsure whether negotiations were on and whether to go to work today.
Another worker told Xinhua news agency that a new hire makes 1,500 yuan (US$220) a month, working six days a week with two hours of overtime every day.
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