Taiwan's Hon Hai raises salaries for China workers

Taiwanese technology giant Hon Hai, the parent company of Foxconn, has said it has raised basic salaries for workers in China by up to 25 percent in a bid to improve working conditions. Hon Hai announced late Friday that salaries for assembly line workers in Shenzhen, southern China have been raised by 16-25 percent to 1,800-2,500 yuan ($285-$400) monthly, depending on job performance, from February 1. Foxconn is the world's largest computer component manufacturer and assembles products for Apple -- including the iPhone -- plus Sony and Nokia. It employs about one million workers in China, about half of them based in Shenzhen. The statement came as the Fair Labor Association began inspections for Apple on Monday at Foxconn's plant in Shenzhen, following reports that employees were overworked and underpaid. In 2010, at least 13 Foxconn employees in China died in apparent suicides, which activists blamed on tough working conditions, prompting calls for better treatment of staff. Foxconn rolled out a series of measures, including wage hikes and safety nets outside buildings, after the deaths and has been expanding its workforce in central China as it seeks to scale back the size of its Shenzhen plant. -- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --