Hong Kong industrialists with operations in the Pearl River Delta have raised wages and improved working conditions to bolster labour ties, fearing that the recent wave of worker unrest will spread throughout the 'factory of the world'.
Federation of Hong Kong Industries chairman Cliff Sun Kai-lit said yesterday that most Hong Kong employers across the border were paying more than the minimum wage and had increased communication with workers through labour unions after a series of strikes and rallies.
The past few weeks have seen a spate of suicides at iPhone maker Foxconn's factories in Shenzhen, strikes at carmaker Honda's component factories in Zhongshan and Foshan, and worker rallies at Taiwanese and state-owned factories in a number of other provinces.
As a result, Foxconn raised monthly wages of frontline workers by 30 per cent to 1,200 yuan (HK$1,366) on June 1 and promised another 66 per cent rise to 2,000 yuan in October. Honda Lock, the component factory in Foshan, lifted monthly pay by 33 per cent to 2,544 yuan.
'The biggest fear is that the unrest may spread,' Sun said. 'Hong Kong factory owners have beefed up workers' benefits and welfare to avoid any labour problems.'
Sun, whose 1,000-worker factory in Longgang, Shenzhen, produces Kinox stainless steel kitchenware, said lower-paid workers were given a rise of 15 per cent on May 1, translating into average wages of 1,100 yuan a month, while higher-paid workers received an 8 per cent increase to an average of 5,000 yuan.
