Local companies say no to pay cuts

By Zhang Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-19 07:43

A total of 231 local firms said they will not cut salaries this year, a survey has found.

Of the 308 companies polled by consultancy firm Mercer, 20 percent make consumer goods, 19 percent are hi-tech firms, 17 percent are in machinery and electronics, and the rest span a variety of other industries.

Sixty percent, including Lenovo, P&G, Unilever, Dupont and Wanke Real Estate, are based in major cities.

Just about six firms said they will resort to salary cuts as a means of combating the financial crisis, while 154 said they will offer lower pay rises.

The rest said they have not made a final decision yet.

Liu Jianli, director of salaries and welfare at Lenovo, said: "We don't have any plans to cut salaries, but there will be limits on pay rises and we will be more cautious in recruiting new people."

Xu Jun, public affairs manager at Dupont Inc in Shanghai, said it too has no plans to cut salaries.

In another survey, by Kingfield Management, 75 percent of the 216 Pearl River Delta firms polled said they will not lay off staff this year.

Forty percent said they will increase wages but by a lower percentage than last year.

With its high number of export-oriented firms, the Pearl River Delta has felt the full brunt of the financial crisis.

Last year, the central government implemented policies that allow companies to defer contributions to pension funds and make lower employee insurance payments.

(China Daily 02/19/2009 page4)