Foxconn increases operators' pay by 30%, other workers demand increases

Foxconn has agreed to increase operator salaries as much as 30% after the recent string of sucides that left ten young employees dead, state media reported. The firm inititally pledged to increase pay by 20%. Basic assembly line workers will now receive RMB1,200 (US$176) up from RMB900 (US$132) per month. Honda has likewise agreed to increase workers’ salaries by 20% after a strike at its Foshan auto parts plants effectively halted production for two weeks. "Our economy can no longer rely on squeezing labor benefits because workers are unwilling to accept it anymore," said Chang Kai, director of Renmin University of China’s labor relations institute. KFC employees in Shenyang have also demanded higher wages from their American parent company. A previously signed contract guaranteed the fast food chain’s employees salaries were in line with the local minimum monthly wage of RMB700 (US$102), but the local employee union has demanded wages of RMB900 (US$132), equal to the local service sector’s minimum wage.