Japanese companies need to have a better understanding of the rapidly changing popular sentiments in China and improve communication with workers at their affiliated plants in the country, veteran journalists from local Chinese newspapers said at a recent seminar in Tokyo.
The recent wave of strikes at foreign-affiliated businesses in China — and the way some of the firms tried to resolve the disputes through government intervention — suggests that the companies lack the understanding of what their workers want, they said.
The journalists were speaking at a seminar organized by the Keizai Koho Center on July 29. Since mid-May, dozens of labor strikes hit foreign-invested companies — many affiliated with Japanese automakers such as Honda and Toyota and their subsidiaries. Most of the disputes were settled after pay raises were offered by the management.