Chinese Company Offers Rs 606 Pay Rise To Employees, Apologises For Tough Year

A company in southwest China apologised to employees after giving a paltry pay raise of 50 yuan per month (Rs 606), blaming the previous year's difficult economic conditions and policy uncertainties, South China Morning Post reported. A door manufacturing company, Meixin, was lauded online after it expressed regret and explained that the meager pay increase was all it could afford owing to low earnings in 2022.

According to the outlet, an internal document of the company that went viral on Chinese social media platforms stated, "We're very sorry to inform you that the pay rise for 2023 will be 50 yuan per person per month. This is a negligible amount but the best the company can do." It further continued, "It's our hope that all of us will work together to improve the company's profits and gradually live a life of dignity."

According to a Human Resources Manager Liao, who spoke to the South China Morning Post, the company failed to meet its business objectives in the previous year and gave a number of explanations, including Covid-19 lockdowns, the downturn in China's housing market and factory power outages during a record heatwave last summer. She told SCMP, "2022 was very, very hard for us. But in such circumstances, we still want to give staff a sense of security and belonging."

This will be applicable to more than six thousand employees of the company. "Our colleagues are happy about the offer because they all have seen how the company struggled and didn't anticipate that," Liao further told the outlet. After the company's internal memo went viral, employees and social media users praised the effort and honesty of the company. 

People took to Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform, to appreciate the move. "It's not bad to have a 50-yuan pay rise. We have pay cuts instead. After all, it's been such a difficult year," one user said. A second person stated, "Surprising that the announcement was in such a nice tone. My company keeps educating us about being grateful instead."