China raised its minimum wage after several social conflicts
Saturday, June 5th, 2010The Chinese authorities have allowed a wave of increases in the minimum wage face the discontent of workers illustrated by growing social conflicts, the media reported Friday.
In Beijing, the minimum monthly wage will be raised by 20% to 960 yuan (115 euros) from 1 July, reported the newspaper Global Times. The increase is twice as large as the increase traditionally announced each year (10.02%) from the capital has introduced a minimum wage in 1994, said the English-language daily.
Beijing is one of 30 provinces or municipalities in China have increased the minimum wage or are about to do.After a recent increase, the metropolis of Shanghai (east) offers the highest minimum wage in the country, to 1120 yuan per month, or 134 euros, according to the official.
These increases come as the harsh working conditions of millions of workers in China are subject to debate, at a time when the third world economy with growth in double digits. Ten employees of the Taiwanese group Foxconnse committed suicide in recent months in southern China, apparently victims of high stress at work and a 11th died of exhaustion in another factory of electronic components, in northern China.Foxconn announced Wednesday a wage increase of 30% of its Chinese employees.
In addition, employees of a factory of spare parts of the Japanese manufacturer Honda are on strike demanding better wages last week, crippling the entire production until Friday before obtaining satisfaction with an increase of 24 % of their salaries to bring them to 1,910 yuan (228 euros).
Despite spectacular economic growth, labor compensation has fallen against the wealth created since the beginning of economic reform in China: it accounted for 56.5% of GDP in 1983, but 36.7% in 2005, recently argued a union official.