Workers strike at Omron plant
By Don Durfee and Doug Young |
July 22, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WORKERS at Japanese electronics maker Omron's southern China factory have gone on strike, the latest disruption in the manufacturing hub over demands for better wages and working conditions.
The burst of disputes that started in May has affected more than a dozen mostly foreign-owned factories.
The Omron strikers, who walked off the job yesterday morning, are demanding a pay raise of at least 40 percent from their current monthly salary of 1,270 yuan (US$187), with some workers saying they want an increase of 500 yuan per month.
The factory mainly makes switches and ignition keys for Honda Motor, Ford, BMW and other car makers.
A spokesman from Omron said 200 to 300 of its 800 workers had gone on strike at its Guangzhou plant. Workers said the number of strikers was more like 400 to 500.
All was quiet at the factory in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, yesterday.
"The cost of living in Guangzhou is rising but our wages from the factory aren't increasing at the same pace," said one woman who has been working at Omron for two years. "That's why we're asking for an increase."
"Management hasn't threatened to fire us. But neither side wants to back down," said another worker. "If we don't hear anything back we will go back on strike tomorrow."
Japanese firms, the targets of many strikes, may be particularly vulnerable as many rely on single suppliers from affiliated companies, making it difficult to find alternatives if production is disrupted, said analyst Koji Endo.
A week-old strike at a plant supplying gear sticks to Honda appeared to be moving toward resolution, as management agreed to a 500-yuan per month raise that workers had been demanding, a worker told Reuters yesterday.
The strike at a plant of Atsumitec Co in Guangdong's Foshan City, began last week.
The burst of disputes that started in May has affected more than a dozen mostly foreign-owned factories.
The Omron strikers, who walked off the job yesterday morning, are demanding a pay raise of at least 40 percent from their current monthly salary of 1,270 yuan (US$187), with some workers saying they want an increase of 500 yuan per month.
The factory mainly makes switches and ignition keys for Honda Motor, Ford, BMW and other car makers.
A spokesman from Omron said 200 to 300 of its 800 workers had gone on strike at its Guangzhou plant. Workers said the number of strikers was more like 400 to 500.
All was quiet at the factory in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, yesterday.
"The cost of living in Guangzhou is rising but our wages from the factory aren't increasing at the same pace," said one woman who has been working at Omron for two years. "That's why we're asking for an increase."
"Management hasn't threatened to fire us. But neither side wants to back down," said another worker. "If we don't hear anything back we will go back on strike tomorrow."
Japanese firms, the targets of many strikes, may be particularly vulnerable as many rely on single suppliers from affiliated companies, making it difficult to find alternatives if production is disrupted, said analyst Koji Endo.
A week-old strike at a plant supplying gear sticks to Honda appeared to be moving toward resolution, as management agreed to a 500-yuan per month raise that workers had been demanding, a worker told Reuters yesterday.
The strike at a plant of Atsumitec Co in Guangdong's Foshan City, began last week.
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