Asian Labour Review

​ Honda Nanhai transmission plant strike, Foshan

Resolved Incident

Honda Nanhai transmission plant strike, Foshan

Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong, China (city) China Manufacturing Strike

View on map Part of: Honda Nanhai auto parts strike, Foshan, 2010

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From 17 May 2010 workers at the Nanhai transmission plant of Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing in Foshan, Guangdong, stopped work over pay after the local minimum wage rose. The stoppage spread through Honda's supply chain and idled assembly plants in Guangzhou and Wuhan. Associates at Foshan Fengfu Autoparts won a rise of about 23 per cent, and IndustriALL reports a 24 per cent rise at the transmission plant with production restarting on 3 June 2010 and car output resuming on 4 June 2010. Honda Lock, a separate parts supplier, was struck in June 2010 by workers who also demanded freedom to form independent unions; that demand was not met and the official All-China Federation of Trade Unions remained the only lawful union channel.

Workers involved
1,900 (estimated)
Outcome
Partial – Pay was the main gain: IndustriALL reports a 24 per cent rise and production restarting on 3 June 2010; the Guardian reports a 366 yuan rise (about 23 per cent) at nearby Foshan Fengfu Autoparts. Worker counts differ (about 1,900 per IndustriALL and Insurgent Notes; 2,000 per Labor Notes). The start date is disputed: most coverage dates the strike from 17 May 2010, while IndustriALL records action at the Foshan plant from 21 May. The independent union demand was not conceded.
Issues
Living Wage, Union Recognition, Working Hours

Sources