Japanese electronics giant Panasonic says it will give employees sent to China a wage premium to compensate for the country’s hazardous air pollution, in a possible first for an international company.
The move was part of a wider deal reached in Japan’s annual labour talks on Thursday which saw major firms, including Panasonic and Toyota, agree to boost workers’ salaries for the first time in years, amid concerns about an economic slowdown after a sales tax rise next month.
A Panasonic spokesman confirmed the pollution-linked pay premium for its expatriate workers, but declined to give further details or say how many such workers it has in China, which has extensive trade and business links with Japan.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald Online )