Rain and Labor Strife
It's July, and that means rain, heat, and high humidity in China! I don't miss that! Rains have caused havoc across the nation. Economic losses are estimated at over $13 billion, but far worse, is the fact that over 500 people have been killed, many in the Guangdong province.The wildcat strike is over at Honda, but the results there and with the Foxconn news, have had a ripple effect through industries in China. After workers received a substantial increase in pay at Honda and Foxconn, other factories have had wildcat strikes by workers expecting the same wage increases! Workers are becoming more knowledgeable and expectations are increasing. A general wage increase is being enacted, but with over 360 million internet users in the nation, word is spreading more rapidly about the increases and more workers are expecting the same. One friend informed me he had factories that had suffered absences of 50 percent of workers, because they hadn't received the same increases.
Even with the increasing wages and labor strife, China is still considered a prime industrial location. China Law Blog put together an interesting comparison of countries and their advantages, even considering current increases.
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 10:28 PM
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