US boss held in China leaves plant after payout
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 4:36 am, Thursday, June 27, 2013
BEIJING (AP) — An American boss detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute. Chip Starnes, who said he was "saddened" by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren't being laid off. The workers at the medical supply plant in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing, said that the company owed them unpaid salary, that they believed the entire factory was shutting down and that they saw equipment being packed and itemized for shipping to India. Starnes, a co-owner of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, had quietly departed the factory grounds by the time Chu spoke, returning to his hotel in Beijing. The labor action reflected growing uneasiness among workers about their jobs amid China's slowing economic growth and the sense that growing labor costs make the country less attractive for some foreign-owned factories. Reported by SeattlePI.com 11 hours ago.
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 4:36 am, Thursday, June 27, 2013
BEIJING (AP) — An American boss detained nearly a week by his company's Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute. Chip Starnes, who said he was "saddened" by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren't being laid off. The workers at the medical supply plant in Huairou district, on the outskirts of Beijing, said that the company owed them unpaid salary, that they believed the entire factory was shutting down and that they saw equipment being packed and itemized for shipping to India. Starnes, a co-owner of Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, had quietly departed the factory grounds by the time Chu spoke, returning to his hotel in Beijing. The labor action reflected growing uneasiness among workers about their jobs amid China's slowing economic growth and the sense that growing labor costs make the country less attractive for some foreign-owned factories. Reported by SeattlePI.com 11 hours ago.