Business dailies have been covering the current strike at the Honda plant in China where workers have demanded an almost 500 Yuan increase in their monthly wages.
Interestingly the workers there have average wages of 1000 Yuan & 2000 Yuan- much higher than the city’s minimum at 920 Yuan. While labour strike over wages is not new, whats new is the fact that its happened in China & with a plant as prominent as this. The 1900 or so workers have continued to be on strike after the initial discussions failed to resolve the differences.
This is definitely going to hit China’s attractiveness as a manufacturing hub for global co’s coz
– It shows that the workers in China are on a path which leads to awareness & demand of their rights
– If China tries to crush this the harsh way, it would have the wrong kind of publicity. If the strike continues, it would mean that many more such incidents could follow.
I feel this might be the start of China’s entry into a middle path towards modernization. Lets see how it pans out.