A rare strike by Chinese workers at a Honda Motor Co car parts factory in southern China, and a spate of suicides at a Foxconn plant that makes electronic products including Apple's iPhone, have focused attention on wages and working conditions.
Honda gave the workers a 24 percent pay rise and full production resumed last week, while Foxconn announced a 30 percent pay rise for employees.
Wage pressures are mounting in China as the balance of power starts to tilt more towards workers, raising questions over how the country will preserve its status as a low-cost manufacturing base while avoiding growing discontent among employees.
But while rising wages in the workshop of the world have sparked worries over thinning corporate profits and inflationary spirals, some analysts argue labour unrest is good for China — and indeed for the world.
By spreading the fruits of growth more evenly, higher incomes will boost domestic consumption and help resolve imbalances that bedevil the global economy.
