Chinese factory workers at two suppliers for foreign automakers returned to work on Thursday 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 a bigger slice of China's growing economic wealth.
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 ($210) per month, from a previous 980 yuan, said a worker who took part in the strike.
The agreement followed a meeting with the company's Japanese managers late on 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 because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Production at the Guangzhou factory of Omron, which supplies switches and ignition keys to Honda, Ford, BMW and other carmakers, restarted Wednesday at around 0530 GMT, 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, said one worker. That's significantly less than the 40 percent rise strikers were demanding.
The Omron spokesman declined to say what concessions the company had agreed to.
Stoppages at foreign-run factories across China by workers demanding pay increases disrupted operations for several weeks in May and June, but the wave of unrest had tapered off by the end of last month.
Full story
