Nearly 1,000 Workers Strike at Hitachi GST in Shenzhen

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Protesters block the entrance to the offices
              of Shenzhen Hailiang Storage Product Co.

(Internet Photo)

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Factory workers strike over Hitachi unit’s sale

(Internet Photo)

To read this article from The Japan Times, click on:
Hitachi sale spurs Chinese strike over severance pay
More than 1,000 workers at a Japanese hard-disk factory in Shenzhen, China, have been on strike since Sunday over severance pay, the company and news reports said Wednesday. According to the workers, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Ltd., after acquiring shares not already owned in subsidiary Shenzhen Hailiang Storage Products Co., decided to sell its stake to U.S.-based hard-disk maker Western Digital Corp. without clarifying workers’ compensation.

To read this article from News China, click on:
Hundreds of workers strike at Shenzhen factory
Nearly 1,000 workers are striking for a fifth day in the Southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, fearing a factory sell-off deal could hit their pay.

To read this article from China News Watch, click on:
Factory workers strike over Hitachi unit’s sale
Workers from Shenzhen Hailiang Storage Products have rallied on factory grounds since Sunday. Hundreds of workers of a Hitachi affiliate protest at their plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong, against what they said was uncertainty over their compensation and work tenure after a US firm acquired the company.

To read this article from Chinadaily, click on:
Strike continues for 5th day at S China factory
A strike at a factory in South China’s city of Shenzhen continued for a fifth day Thursday, as workers fear their benefits may not be guaranteed due to a recent acquisition.

To read this article from Renegade Magazine, click on:
Spreading Labor Strikes In China, 1,000 Protest At Hitachi Plant
Nearly 1,000 workers at a Japanese-owned factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen staged a protest on Monday demanding compensation in accordance with their length of service following a change in the facility’s ownership, media reported, the latest outbreak of labor unrest in China.

Comments

Labor strikes are rare in the HDD industry. The manufacturers have chosen since many years to implant their facilities in Asia - now all the HDD assembly plants are there -, not only for low salaries but also to benefit from quiet social political climate. But it's changing, especially in China.

Here Hitachi GST is in a complicated situation to answer to its nearly 1,000 workers protesting over their compensation and work tenure in this period where the acquisition by WD is not finalized, not before 1Q12. Executives of both companies cannot decide anything in this transition period. But WD has the possibility to send a message to the dissatisfied employees at least to reassure them.

Remember also that WD is supposed to divest "essential production assets for 3.5-inch, including a production plant, and accompanying measures", an obligation imposed by the European Commission. Nothing is done and you can imagine that the Chinese workers at HGST are afraid that eventually WD could divest 3.5-inch HDD activity of HGST.

The Japan manufacturer has three facilities in Shenzhen, including Hailiang Storage Products Co., Ltd., Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., and Hitachi Global Storage Products (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

WD is not lucky after the flood in Thailand impacting its business as never before, after the arbitration decision vs. Seagate entitled to recover compensatory damages of $525 million, and now after this strike at HGST to be acquired.

This strike has a good chance to further increase the current shortage of HDDs.