OSAKA -- A one-day strike at a Minolta Co. plant in Guangdong, China, caused management to rescind a proposal that would have abolished Chinese New Year's bonuses, a company spokesman said Thursday.
Several hundred employees went on strike Wednesday morning, halting operations for the rest of the day, according to Minolta spokesman Ichiro Shirai.
They returned Thursday morning, however, after the proposal was withdrawn.
"Operations have resumed, and we will not be presenting the proposal again," Shirai said. "We meant to provide an incentive for workers, but apparently the workers did not take it in the positive way that we intended."
Shirai went on to claim the proposal was aimed at cutting costs.
The plant, operated by Minolta's Hong Kong subsidiary, Minolta Industries (HK) Ltd., produces photocopiers and printers and is a key production base for Minolta. It employs 3,200 people, and there is no union.
Since the plant's establishment in 1994, Minolta has paid bonuses equivalent to a month's salary during Chinese New Year, in accordance with Chinese custom, Shirai said.
Staff members were told recently, however, that the firm was planning to shift next year to a performance-based bonus system.
"Our headquarters in Tokyo is currently in the middle of shifting to a performance-based salary system, but such changes will apparently be difficult to implement in other countries," he said.