Wage rise at Foxconn after string of suicides

BEIJING/TAIPEI, CHINA: Taiwan electronics company Foxconn Technology said on Wednesday it planned to raise wages for its Chinese workers by 30 per cent after a spate of suicides at its plant in southern China.

A company spokesman in Taipei said the wage increase from 900 yuan ($132) to 1,200 yuan was effective immediately. The raise was higher than a 20-per cent hike announced last week.

A series of suicides at the factory in Shenzhen triggered a debate about working conditions, wages and the company's strict, "military-like" management style.

Since the beginning of this year, 10 Foxconn workers have committed suicide and three more attempted to take their lives.

Foxconn is the world's largest contract maker of electronics. Its customers include Dell Inc and Apple Inc, and it employs more than 400,000 people in Shezhen.

Several of its international clients have started independent inquiries into the suicides. Chinese experts said possible causes were high work pressure, a lack of social networks, isolation and lack of perspective for many of the young migrant workers.