Panasonic staff continue protest
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More than 200 employees blocked the gate of a factory belonging to Panasonic Corporation of China for the fourth day Wednesday in a desperate attempt to secure a better severance deal.
Factory managers and the disgruntled workers sat down at the negotiating table at 4 pm Wednesday in the hope of finding a solution. At press time, no deal had been reached.
The workers said the action at the factory, which is close to the international airport, would continue. Neither side would predict when the situation might end.
Panasonic Electronic Devices (Beijing) Company runs two production lines at the facility that have manufactured capacitors since 1996. The company told workers it planned to move one of the production lines to Guangdong province because of the high cost of producing parts in Beijing.
The workers were told about the move on Jan 15 and decided to block the gate on Monday as factory managers began asking members of the workforce to volunteer to leave the company.
Posters on the gate said workers were united and demanded the same severance package as the company offered other workers at other factories.
"They did not tell us they were looking for volunteers because they had decided to fire most of us," said a worker who had been at the factory for 13 years.
He claimed the word "volunteer" was being used but in reality the factory would fire all workers and offer only a small severance package.
"We have worked here for more than 10 years and spent our youth here. Now the factory wants to dismiss us with only 50,000 yuan," he said.
The workers stayed at the main gates around the clock and senior executives, including four Japanese managers inside a building, did not visit to talk with them, he said.
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