Chinese Strikes: Honda Enters The Kiddie Phase

by Bertel Schmitt

Updated: June 23rd, 2010 Published: May 30th, 2010

chinese strikes honda enters the kiddie phase

The strike at Honda’s transmission factory in China that has led to the closure of all Honda sites in China shows no sign of resolution. Actually, there is a new twist: Management is leaning on school interns not to strike, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reports. Why the sudden focus on interns?

19 to 20-year-old interns, fresh out of school, make up more than half of the workforce at the Honda parts factory in Foshan. Currently, interns account for most of the workforce after regular workers walked out on May 22.

Honda is offering the kids carrot and stick: If they stay, they can get monthly pay increases of more than 400 yuan (about $60). That’s on top of their training rate of $132 a month. If they join the striking workers, Honda threatens collisions with China’s labor law. That is a hollow threat. The law, enacted in 2008, gives workers European-style protection and benefits. It can’t chain the worker to the workbench.

The discussion between regular workers are at an impasse. Honda plants throughout China will most likely remain closed on Monday, Bloomberg reports. On May 24, Honda offered workers a pay raise of $17 to $22 per month. The workers refused. They are enraged that workers sent from Japan make 50 times the money a local gets. On Honda’s side, for the first time, there is talk to import transmissions from outside of China. This can take a while.

It is interesting to watch the Chinese coverage of the strike. For a few days, there was nothing. Then, there were two days of intensive coverage. Now, nothing again. The strike is over, as far as China’s weekend media is concerned. The New York Times sees that as a sign “that the Honda strike was beginning to test the government’s patience.”

Coverage of the suicides in Taiwanese-owned Foxconn on the other hand continues unabated. There are daily reports, even about suicides that do not take place. If “Chinese work conditions” trigger a “Foxconn” reflex in you, then you have become an unwitting victim of the Chinese propaganda machine. They just forgot to drive home the fact that it’s a Taiwan-owned plant. Zaole!

#BertelSchmitt #China #Honda #Japan #Strike #Transmission

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

6 of 14 comments

Stingray on May 31, 2010

"They are enraged that workers sent from Japan make 50 times the money a local gets." Are you sure it's 50? Because that accounts for US$ 11K (taking the US$ 220 from your previous article). If so, putting in their shoes, I wouldn't be enraged, I would be burning the factory. In any case, I guess the Japanese worker takes his home salary + expenses + some money paid by that branch. Also that factory pays the Japan subsidiary for "technical assistance" another fee. My guess only. Regarding the interns... if they keep working, good luck when the conflict ceases and the regular workers go back to work. The lack of solidarity will be sorely "charged"

Like Reply
- See 2 previous
- Bertel Schmitt on May 31, 2010
  
  That's what some Chinese articles claim. Well, they may exaggerate a little. However, I happen to know what some foreign "experts" make, and their housing allowance alone would be a good chunk of those 11K ....
  
  Like
- Stingray on May 31, 2010
  
  Ha ha!... the quoting marks on expert said it all. I've seen something like that here. But never such high disproportion. AFAIK. I wouldn't feel bad if I were one of those "experts" with that kind of coin. In any case, money has to be taken back home, and that "assistance" is one of the ways.
  
  Like
- Gimmeamanual on Jun 01, 2010
  
  As one of the "experts" I'd be pretty happy if I made 50 times what these guys make. But I don't, and doubt the Japanese ones they're talking about do, unless they're comparing a Chinese line worker to the Japanese plant manager, but that's not a fair comparison. Or maybe I need to renegotiate my contract.
  
  Like
Mother Muckraker on Jun 01, 2010

$17 a month???? That's slave wages. I hope they strike and win as they have little to lose. Raising their wages to $22/month is an insult. They should be making 50 times as much to achieve wage parity with Japan.

Like Reply
- Gimmeamanual on Jun 01, 2010
  
  $17-$22 is the raise amount, not the actual pay; they currently make ~$220. And in a place where $0.50 can get you a decent meal, that's "not slave wages." Wage parity with Japan? Keep dreaming.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Honda1 Unions were needed back in the early days, not needed know. There are plenty of rules and regulations and government agencies that keep companies in line. It's just a money grad and nothing more. Fain is a punk!
1995 SC If the necessary number of employees vote to unionize then yes, they should be unionized. That's how it works.
Sobhuza Trooper That Dave Thomas fella sounds like the kind of twit who is oh-so-quick to tell us how easy and fun the bus is for any and all of your personal transportation needs. The time to get to and from the bus stop is never a concern. The time waiting for the bus is never a concern. The time waiting for a connection (if there is one) is never a concern. The weather is never a concern. Whatever you might be carrying or intend to purchase is never a concern. Nope, Boo Cars! Yeah Buses! Buses rule!Needless to say, these twits don't actual take the damn bus.
MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)