Chinese Factory Workers End Strike Over Bonus Pay

Posted December 29th, 2011 at 3:40 am (UTC-5)
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Thousands of workers at an electronics manufacturing factory in eastern China ended a three-day strike on Thursday after company officials agreed to boost their year-end bonuses.

As many as 8,000 workers at the South Korean-owned LG Display factory in Nanjing city walked off the job Monday. They complained that South Korean workers were receiving bonuses that were six times as large as Chinese workers.

But officials said they agreed to return to work after the company offered to double the bonus for Chinese workers to two months’ salary.

Chinese workers at the factory are reported to receive an average monthly salary of just over $220.

Meanwhile, a U.S.-based rights group said Thursday that workers at a factory in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou have gone on strike to protest a similar reduction in year-end bonuses.

China Labor Watch said that workers at an auto parts factory owned by the Japanese firm Ahresty Corp walked off the job on Tuesday.

Chinese workers have shown an increased willingness to strike in recent months, with many complaining of low salaries, wage cuts and poor working conditions.