Eight-day strike at China factory making Michael Kors bags ends as workers’ pension and wage demands met
South Korea’s Simone Accessories Collection, which once operated five factories in the southern Chinese city, agrees to workers’ demands on pension and housing provident funds
Chinese factory workers in Guangzhou, who make luxury handbags for the US fashion label Michael Kors, ended an eight-day strike this week after the company agreed to their demands, but activists warn labour disputes on the mainland are likely to increase as workers seek better pay and treatment in line with the country’s economic advancement.
Workers at Panyu Simone, controlled by South Korea’s Simone Accessories Collection, had demanded a guaranteed basic wage of 3,500 yuan (US$552) a month, retroactive compensation for their pension fund, a housing provident fund and other work-related benefits, according to New York-based China Labour Watch.
“Serving as employees of a foreign-funded enterprise that produces high-grade leather products, we originally felt deeply honoured; however, we earn the lowest wages and must rely on working overtime in order to ensure a basic living wage,” the workers said in an open letter to the factory management, provided by China Labour Watch.
The workers, 70 per cent of whom are women, signed the agreement on March 13 with the factory’s management. The strike had started on March 5.
In an emailed statement, Simone Accessories said it would compensate all the workers at the Guangzhou factory who wanted to participate in the pension fund retroactively from the date of employment, and was in the process of similarly compensating workers their full housing provident fund, adding that it “has strictly complied with local laws and regulations in terms of compensation and wages”.
The company said wages may have dipped below the 3,500 yuan level at the end of last year, but with orders back on track “the wage will not be an issue”.
Michael Kors did not reply to three emails and phone calls seeking comment.