Honda Offers Strikers in China 24% Pay Boost

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Wall Street Journal

By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU

BEIJING—Honda Motor Co. said it has offered striking workers who have paralyzed its car-production lines in China a 24% increase in pay and benefits, a significant concession that highlights the new challenge from organized labor facing foreign investors on the world's factory floors.

Strikers were pushing for a 53% boost to bring their total compensation package to 2,300 yuan (US$337) a month, according to two strike leaders who were fired by Honda after the walkout began May 17 at a plant in southern Guangdong province, China's export powerhouse.

Nevertheless, Beijing-based Honda spokesman Takayuki Fujii said that "a majority" of the 1,900 workers at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co. accepted the company's offer and returned to work Monday afternoon, allowing the company to "partially restart production" of transmissions, or engine gears. He said several dozen workers have rejected the offer and are trying to disrupt work at the factory.

Honda now hopes to restart operations at all four of the Chinese joint-venture final-assembly plants that it was forced to shut down last week because of the lack of a key component.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703406604575278501916351546.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us

[Joanne98]

1. See what strikes can do?

[harmonicon]

2. +1

[Fearless]

3. +2

[femrap]

4. I'll never forget the photo

I saw of Chinese peasants constructing a high-rise building. They had no shirts. They were wearing FLIP FLOPS on these steel beams some 10 stories up in the air. You could see their ribs. Their belts were tied as tightly as possible. I suppose they were provided with one bowl of rice/day.

[David__77]

5. I'm pleased at least the the state didn't suppress the strike.

Interestingly, older workers in China are familiar with strikes. Unknown to most Americans today, they were quite common during Mao's later years in larger cities like Shanghai. The right to strike was part of the constitution, and removed in 1980 or so.

The official union federation, ACFTU, had better get on the ball and start actually advocated for workers unless they want independent unions emerging as happened in Poland. They certainly can't argue "workers can't strike under socialism because they own everything," as cynical as that argument was. Private industry is everywhere, and someone has to defend working people's interests.

[Strelnikov_]

6. Seems trouble is brewing in the Capitailist paradise n/t

[closeupready]

7. Did I read that right - 24%???

n/t