Honda Motor said on Friday it settled a labor dispute at a Chinese car parts plant after almost three weeks of disruption, allowing it to build cars again in the world’s fastest-growing market.
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The unusually long strike at Honda’s supplier came at a time when foreign companies in China have been hit with a string of worker disputes, raising questions about how long China can remain the world’s center of cheap manufacturing.
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About a third of the plant’s 1,900 workers are interns, who as vocational students typically receive lower wages and fewer benefits than regular employees. The interns are among those pushing for better conditions.
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Strikes are usually stamped out quickly in China, but more labor disputes have been erupting lately between workers resentful of large income disparities and harsh working conditions, and employers trying to rein in rising costs.
What I’d really love to read, some day, is an informed analysis and comparison between the strategies and rhetoric used in dealing with auto labour in both the Chinese and US markets.
Warren
The Chinese auto workers are probably at the same level of pay and protections that ours were back in the 1920’s or 1930’s. The thing is, our labor unions won. Then, to justify their continued high dues, they demanded more and more and more, until they priced themselves right out of work.
MB
Well, you’ve got the management side down pat.