【英语生活】富士康加薪 改善工人待遇呼声渐高

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. said it would increase wages for its workers in China by 30%, more than it had originally planned, in the latest sign of pressure on companies to improve conditions for employees in the country's vast manufacturing sector.

Hon Hai, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics and a major supplier to Apple Inc. and other brands, had announced plans Friday to raise wages in China by an average of 20%.

Hon Hai has come under international scrutiny amid a spate of suicides this year, in which 10 Hon Hai workers in the southern city of Shenzhen jumped to their deaths. Hon Hai officials insisted the wage increase wasn't related to the suicides, but rather a long-discussed measure to address labor shortages.

Hon Hai spokesman Edmund Ding said Wednesday the decision to raise wages by 30% was based on further internal discussion. 'Everybody thought it is not a bad idea, and it is workable,' he said.

Meanwhile, Hon Hai confirmed another employee death in Shenzhen. A labor-rights group said the worker, who died Friday in his home, suffered from exhaustion, but Hon Hai said it reviewed the case and 'found nothing to support any allegation that it was work-related.'

China's government has been requiring increases in the minimum wage, in part to address growing public concern over a widening wealth gap. Guangdong, the southern province where Shenzhen sits, is in the process of raising minimum wages by 20% or more for all its cities.

And with economic conditions improving in China's rural hinterland, many of the migrant workers who populate big coastal factories have less incentive to seek work afar, adding to upward pressure on wages.

Hon Hai's wage announcement came as a Honda Motor Co. component factory in southern China resumed normal operations Wednesday after the auto maker agreed to increase compensation by 24% to end a strike, which had paralyzed Honda's production in the world's biggest car market.

Wage pressure is affecting other industries, too. A labor union in Shenyang has demanded that Yum Brands Inc. raise wages at its KFC outlets in the northeastern city, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday. China is one of Yum's largest markets.

A union leader confirmed the Xinhua report, but wouldn't elaborate. Yum, in an emailed statement, said it pays its employees in China more than the legal minimum wage, and wouldn't comment on union negotiations.

Hon Hai's problems have hung in the background of this week's Computex technology trade show in Taipei.

A few dozen protesters Tuesday carried signs and shouted slogans criticizing Hon Hai for its treatment of workers, and executives have been asked about the impact on their companies.

Ray Chen, chief executive of Compal Electronics Inc., the world's largest contract manufacturer of notebook PCs, said he doesn't expect wage increases to have a big impact on his company's finances.

Compal, which makes notebooks and other devices for brands like Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., employs about 20,000 workers.

Still, Mr. Chen said Compal is concerned that negative attention on Hon Hai over the suicides could tarnish the images of other foreign-owned manufacturers in China.

Apple and other customers, including H-P and Dell, have said they are investigating the deaths.

On Tuesday, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the suicides were 'very troubling to us' but also defended Hon Hai.

'For a factory, it's a pretty nice factory,' he said at The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital conference, referring to Hon Hai's huge Shenzhen plant.

鸿海精密工业股份有限公司(Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.)说，将为中国大陆的工人加薪30%，幅度比公司原来计划的要大。这再次显示出在中国规模庞大的制造业中，企业面临着改善员工待遇的压力。

鸿海是全球最大的电子产品合同制造商，是苹果(Apple Inc.)等品牌的一个主要供应商。该公司上周五宣布了为大陆工人平均加薪20%的计划。

Imaginechina/Zuma Press深圳的工人们上周在工作今年以来，鸿海发生了一系列员工自杀事件，深圳工厂有10名工人跳楼丧生，该公司也随之受到了国际社会的审查。该公司管理人士坚持说，加薪与自杀事件无关，而是一项讨论已久的解决用工短缺的措施。

鸿海发言人丁祈安(Edmund Ding)周三说，加薪30%的决定是根据进一步的内部讨论做出的。他说，大家都认为这不是个坏主意，是可行的。

与此同时，鸿海证实深圳又有一名员工死亡。一个劳动维权组织说，这名工人因劳累过度周五在自己家中死亡。不过，鸿海说，公司对案件进行了调查，没有发现有任何证据证明与工作有关。

中国政府一直要求用工单位提高最低工资水平，部分原因是为了缓解公众对贫富差距不断扩大的日益担忧。广东省目前正着手将所辖各市的最低工资提高20%甚至更高。

随着中国农村落后地区的经济条件不断改善，很多到沿海大工厂工作的外来务工人员不再愿意到远处找工作，给工资增添了上行压力。

在鸿海宣布加薪的同时，本田汽车公司(Honda Motor Co.)同意为华南零部件工厂的工人加薪24%，来结束一场导致它在世界最大汽车市场停产的罢工，此后该厂于周三恢复正常运营。

Bloomberg News上周在深圳，富士康的工人们在装配线上工作工资压力也在影响其他行业。官方媒体新华社周三报道，东北沈阳的一家工会已要求百胜餐饮集团(Yum Brands Inc.)增加该市肯德基(KFC)快餐店的工资。中国是百胜集团最大的市场之一。

一位工会领袖证实了新华社的报道，但没有具体解释。百胜集团通过电子邮件发来声明说，它付给中国员工的工资高于法定最低工资标准，并且不会就它与工会的谈判发表评论。

鸿海的问题一直在本周台北国际电脑展(Computex)的背后若隐若现。

周二，数十名示威者举着标语、高呼口号，指责鸿海给员工的待遇。高管们也被问到各自公司受到的影响。

仁宝电脑工业股份有限公司(Compal Electronics Inc.)总经理陈瑞聪(Ray Chen)说，他预计工资增长不会对自己公司的财务产生重大影响。

仁宝电脑是全球最大的笔记本电脑代工厂家，雇有员工约两万人，为惠普(Hewlett-Packard Co.)和戴尔(Dell Inc.)等品牌生产笔记本电脑和其他设备。

不过陈瑞聪也说，仁宝担心，鸿海因自杀事件引起的负面关注，有可能损害其他外资制造企业的形象。

苹果、惠普和戴尔等其他客户曾说，它们正在调查这些死亡事件。

苹果首席执行长乔布斯(Steve Jobs)周二说，这些自杀事件“让我们非常不安”，但他也为鸿海辩护。

乔布斯在《华尔街日报》All Things Digital大会上说，对于一家工厂来说，鸿海的深圳工业园区是一家非常不错的工厂。