ITUC/GUF Hong Kong Liaison Office http://www.ihlo.org/LRC/W/000311.html （China Labor Net notes: On March 2, 2011, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on the result of the collective bargaining between the workplace union and the management of Honda Nanhai. This IHLO report seems mostly based on the Chinese report.）

In May 2010, about 1800 workers from the Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (CHAM) staged a strike to demand higher wages and the reform of the enterprise trade union. This strike caused disruption not only to the production of CHAM, but also to three other Honda branches in China. At the beginning, the company tried to suppress the strike with the help of the party-affiliated trade unions and the local government, but this was to no avail. Workers were very persistent in the pursuit of their legitimate demands and in the end the company  bowed to pressure and entered into negotiation with workers’ representatives, who were democratically elected during the strike. In the negotiation, the company agreed to raise the monthly wages of formal workers and student interns by 32.4% and 70% respectively. Highlights of this strike are captured in this report. 

  Statement by AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka and United Auto Workers President Bob King June 28 2010 America’s auto workers and observers around the world have watched with admiration as the courageous young auto workers at Honda’s Chinese factories have in the past weeks risen up in protest against the low-wage system imposed by Honda and many employers, foreign and domestic, in China.    China is a source of immense corporate profits, but too many of China’s frontline workers remain locked in a labor regime of low wages, speed-up and long hours.  Honda forces its many “interns” and contract workers to accept sub-minimum wages, below the already low wages paid regular workers, in violation of Chinese labor law. Aware of their rights as workers and citizens, more and more Chinese workers are now demanding a fair share of the wealth being they produce, decent working conditions and humane hours and the right to voice in the workplace.     

Spurred by the Foxconn suicides, and aided by an exploding Internet, China's labor ranks are organizing for higher wages and more rights   By Dexter Roberts   A nondescript Beijing suburb was recently the venue for an evening of radical politics. The New Labor Art Troupe, a performance group with a cast of laborers, ran a graphic photo of a Foxconn worker who had just killed himself. Poems were read commemorating the hard lives of migrant workers in electronics factories and on construction sites. A guitar and harmonica were hauled out and songs were sung with titles like Marginalized Life, Industrial Zone, Working Is Our Glory and Our Hell, Get Back Our Wages, and Fighting in Solidarity.

June 6, 2010 Editorial note: This solidarity statement was drafted by a group of old Chinese Communist Party members. It is worth pointing out that it explicitly calls for the Communist Party to respect the right to strike and democratic elections of workplace unions, on top of its demand for free speech.  Even if we do not share the perspective of the part of the statement which approves the Communist Party's "the four basic principles" ("Upholding socialism, the dictatorship of proletariat, the leading role of the Party, and Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought"), this difference, however, should not stop us from posting this statement of support for the Honda Foshan workers' struggle as this is a more urgent concern.   To: General Secretary Hu Jintao and Members of the Central Party Committee, Chairman Wu Bangguo of the People’s Congress Premier Wen Jiabao, Vice Premiers, and Members of the State Council Compatriots throughout China, and all Media Outlets:   There have recently occurred numerous incidents in our country that signal intensified social contradictions. According to media reports, Shenzhen-based Foxconn with Taiwanese investment have treated workers as machines (or worse, just spare parts!) to generate profit for the company and instituted an inhumane management system that destroys the health and spirit of workers to the extent that some have felt that life is not worth living.

For the protection of workers’ rights and the right to democratic election of worker representatives, the workers of Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co. Ltd has stopped work for nearly half a month. During the stoppage of work, we received support from both the domestic and international communities. The support has given tremendous boost in the morale of the workers’ struggle!

  Bai Ruixue   Striking Honda workers in Foshan, Guangdong Province have shown incredible courage and determination in their fight to demand higher wages. Workers have now been on strike for more than two weeks. Strike action initially began on May 17th when more than 100 workers went on strike. This was followed up by two strikes on May 21st which resulted in Honda management retaliating and dismissing two of the leading workers. The following day the whole factory went out and began a strike which has seen the stoppage of all Honda’s production in China.  

A Post 80's Generation Honda Worker Speaks Outhttp://bbs.ttx.cn/fm16/thread-318679-1-1.html 2010-05-29 01:55:39 Honda is a Fortune 500 company! It earned more than 4 billion yuan last year! It earned more than a billion the year before that! Let’s compare Honda with other businesses. But none can really compare with it! This is a Fortune 500 company which earned more than 4 billion in 2009 but only pays minimum wages to workers.

Solidarity with Honda Workers’ Struggle for Higher Wages and Reorganization of the Shop Floor Trade Union To brothers and sisters in trade unions and civil society, and all friends who are concerned about the labor situation in China: To brothers and sisters in trade unions and civil society, and all friends who are concerned about the labor situation in : Please read the BACKGROUND INFORMATION and sign the JOINT STATEMENT below it. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Workers at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co. Ltd., located in Foshan City Guangdong Province, have begun their 16th day of strike action. This is one of many strikes by Chinese workers, but is among the longest in recent years. While many people have been concerned and greatly moved by the tragedy of Foxconn’s workers who committed suicide by jumping from a building, the struggle of Honda workers undoubtedly is very encouraging.

Joe Tan/Reuters A security guard on Friday at a Honda manufacturing plant in Foshan, Guangdong Province, that was shut due to a labor dispute at a parts facility. By KEITH BRADSHER and DAVID BARBOZA  Published: May 28, 2010   FOSHAN, China — After years of being pushed to work 12-hour days, six days a week on monotonous low-wage assembly line tasks, China’s workers are starting to push back.