Workers get raises as 2 strikes end
By Kelvin Soh |
July 23, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Chinese factory workers at two suppliers for foreign automakers returned to work yesterday after winning hefty pay rises, ending strikes that again highlighted the carmakers' vulnerability to their China suppliers.
The strikes at Atsumitec Co, which supplies Honda Motor Co's China operations, and Japanese electronics maker Omron Corp were the latest in a series by workers demanding pay increases.
The walkout at Atsumitec, which produces gearsticks for the Honda Accord, ended after workers agreed to a 45-percent pay raise to 1,420 yuan (US$210) per month, from a previous 980 yuan, said a worker.
The agreement followed a meeting with the company's Japanese managers late Wednesday, the worker said. Honda confirmed the strike had ended.
"We're all ready to go back to work now, and everyone is happy with the outcome," said the worker, who asked not to be identified.
Production at the Guangzhou factory of Omron, which supplies switches and ignition keys to Honda, Ford and other carmakers, restarted Wednesday at around 1:30pm, said a spokesman for Omron in Tokyo.
The company agreed to pay an additional 300 yuan per month in salary and benefits, up from a current pay level of 1,270 yuan, a worker said.
That's significantly less than the 40 percent rise strikers were demanding.
Stoppages at foreign-run factories across China by workers disrupted operations for several weeks in May and June, but the wave of strikes had tapered off by the end of last month.
The burst of labor disputes has affected more than a dozen factories, including suppliers to Honda and its bigger rival Toyota, raising questions about the region's future as a low-cost manufacturing base.
Japanese carmakers have been a particular target of strikers, partly because their lean inventories and heavy reliance on individual suppliers makes them more likely to give in to worker demands than US or European firms.
But Japanese executives, including Honda's chief executive, have said they don't intend to change their supply chain model since more inventory or supply sources would raise the cost structure, hitting their bottom lines.
Analysts said the strikes may also underscore deeper issues, including cultural differences between Japanese managers and Chinese employees.
"Japanese-invested companies have their own special cultural characteristics," said Wang Jing, of the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing.
"Chinese workers have to obey every aspect of the company's culture," Wang said. "Japanese companies also have much stricter discipline requirements compared with other foreign firms."
The strikes at Atsumitec Co, which supplies Honda Motor Co's China operations, and Japanese electronics maker Omron Corp were the latest in a series by workers demanding pay increases.
The walkout at Atsumitec, which produces gearsticks for the Honda Accord, ended after workers agreed to a 45-percent pay raise to 1,420 yuan (US$210) per month, from a previous 980 yuan, said a worker.
The agreement followed a meeting with the company's Japanese managers late Wednesday, the worker said. Honda confirmed the strike had ended.
"We're all ready to go back to work now, and everyone is happy with the outcome," said the worker, who asked not to be identified.
Production at the Guangzhou factory of Omron, which supplies switches and ignition keys to Honda, Ford and other carmakers, restarted Wednesday at around 1:30pm, said a spokesman for Omron in Tokyo.
The company agreed to pay an additional 300 yuan per month in salary and benefits, up from a current pay level of 1,270 yuan, a worker said.
That's significantly less than the 40 percent rise strikers were demanding.
Stoppages at foreign-run factories across China by workers disrupted operations for several weeks in May and June, but the wave of strikes had tapered off by the end of last month.
The burst of labor disputes has affected more than a dozen factories, including suppliers to Honda and its bigger rival Toyota, raising questions about the region's future as a low-cost manufacturing base.
Japanese carmakers have been a particular target of strikers, partly because their lean inventories and heavy reliance on individual suppliers makes them more likely to give in to worker demands than US or European firms.
But Japanese executives, including Honda's chief executive, have said they don't intend to change their supply chain model since more inventory or supply sources would raise the cost structure, hitting their bottom lines.
Analysts said the strikes may also underscore deeper issues, including cultural differences between Japanese managers and Chinese employees.
"Japanese-invested companies have their own special cultural characteristics," said Wang Jing, of the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing.
"Chinese workers have to obey every aspect of the company's culture," Wang said. "Japanese companies also have much stricter discipline requirements compared with other foreign firms."
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