Foxconn raises wages for Chinese workers
Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group said Saturday that it has raised wages by up to 25 percent in the second major salary hike in less than two years, as the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer comes under intensive scrutiny after a spate of suicides, AP reported.
Foxconn employs about 1 million workers at its massive plants in China that are run with military-like discipline. The workers assemble iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc., Xbox video game consoles for Microsoft Corp. and computers for Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
Chinese workers at Foxconn now receive between 1,800-2,500 yuan ($285-$400) per month following the raises that became effective Feb. 1.
Foxconn is also taking measures to limit workers' total work hours, and the raises come as a compensation for their reduced overtime.
The announcement came as the U.S. Fair Labor Association is inspecting Apple's Chinese suppliers for their labor practices.
In 2010, a spate of worker suicides at an enormous Foxconn complex in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen drew attention to the stress many young workers faced working in some factories.