Shenzhen to hike wages
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Shenzhen is expected to raise its minimum wage by at least 10 percent starting next month, a senior official in the local government said Monday, less than one week after Shenzhen-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn, shaken by a rash of suicides, announced it would raise wages for its Chinese workers by around 20 percent.
"Shenzhen has had minimum wage standards for 18 years, and we improve it every one or two years," said Wang Min, head of the municipality's human resources and social security. Wang said the minimum wage hike will erase the difference between a special zone with a higher minimum wage and the rest of the municipality.
Currently, the minimum wage inside the special zone is 1,000 yuan ($146.45). Outside the zone, where Foxconn is based, it is 900 yuan ($131.81), which is what entry-level workers at Foxconn's factory are paid. The Shenzhen factory employs more than 400,000 workers.
"We must work overtime for the extra income besides the salary," Cheng Min, a worker in the company's moulding department Wednesday told the Global Times. His total overtime was 57.5 hours last month, while his monthly income, excluding overtime pay, is 1,972 yuan ($288.81).
Foxconn is the world's biggest contract manufacturer of electronics, and counts among its customers Nokia and Apple.
Twelve of its employees have attempted suicide this year, 10 successfully.
"Apple has conducted an investigation of Foxconn, and they believe the main reason for the suicide jumps is related to the employees' low wages," the Digital Journal reported Monday.
