China: 30 percent more social disputes

With more than 200 since the year started, strikes and other social movements have increased by more than 30 percent compared with the same period last year, according to China Labor Bulletin, the NGO.  In 2010, one year after the subprime bubble burst out, a major strike wave hit large foreign businesses in China - Foxconn, Honda and Toyota.  This year, IBM, Tinyi (Taiwan) and a Nike and Adidas Taiwanese subcontractor went through social movements that were given great media coverage.  But a lot of all-Chinese businesses are affected as well.  Only 10 percent of claims are about wage increases.  Most conflicts are caused by violations of contractual or statutory obligations.
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In 2013, the average Chinese migrant worker earned CNY 2,609 (€304) per month. Since 2010, it was the 4th year in a row where it went up 10 percent from the previous year. Whereas the political impact of the one-child policy means that the active population is still going down, specialists don’t see how this trend could slow down. The place of Chinese products in the downmarket doesn’t allow price control; it’s the trap of “average earnings,” the cost of raw materials increases but Chinese p

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