Electronics firm boosts workers' pay after spate of suicides

THE Taiwanese electronics company buffeted by a spate of suicides at its China factories said yesterday it would raise the pay of workers by an average of 20 per cent.

The pay rises at Foxconn Technology Group have been in the works for months to cope with a labour shortage following China's recovery from the global recession, a company official said.

But the official said the big rise in pay could help to lift workers' morale. "Feeling sad is contagious, and so is feeling happy," he said. "We hope the workers will have a positive attitude towards their lives."

The basic salary at the China plants of Foxconn Technology Group – which makes iPhones and other popular gadgets – is about 900 yuan (90) a month.

Ten workers have killed themselves and three have attempted to take their own lives at Foxconn's operations in southern China this year, mainly involving workers who jumped from buildings.

The most recent suicide attempt involved a 25-year-old man who slashed his wrists in the factory dormitory on Thursday.

One additional Foxconn worker in northern China also committed suicide this year.

Workers' leaders accuse the company of having a rigid management style, an excessively fast assembly line and forced overwork. Foxconn officials deny the allegations.

The company is the world's largest contract maker of electronics. Its long list of customers include Apple, Sony, Dell, Nokia and Hewlett-Packard.