Honda Motor Co, the second-largest Japanese automaker, is facing a copycat strike at another factory in Guangdong province, China, just a few days after it resolved a strike at its Foshan exhaust-pipe plant, also in Guangdong province.

Workers at Foshan Fengfu Autoparts went on wildcat strike yesterday morning without any reason, but the company believes that workers at this plant walked out after the automaker agreed on Friday to raise wages to end the previous strike at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing.

Foshan Fengfu Autoparts is a joint venture between Honda subsidiary Yutaka Giken and Taiwanese company Fui and supplies mufflers and other exhaust parts for Guangqi Honda, a joint car venture between Honda and Guangzhou Automobile of China, which makes Honda's Accord, Odyssey and Fit.

The South China Morning Post reported yesterday that Foshan Fengfu Autoparts, which employs 460 people, only about 20 workers went on strike early morning, but by evening had managed to convince about 250 others to join them.

About 1,850 workers at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co in Foshan, Guangdong province, walked out 17 May demanding a pay rise, which caused Honda to halt output at four assembly plants starting 24 May as parts ran short. (See: Honda plants in Foshan,China remain closed as workers strike for better wages)

According to state-controlled Chinese media, workers at the transmission factory earn $150 to $220 a month. They are demanding to be paid on par with Honda's assembly plant workers who earn $300 to $370 a month.

Honda ended the two-week strike on Friday after workers agreed to the company's offer of a 24-per cent increase in pay and benefits, although it was far less than the 53 per cent that they were demanding.

Overseas firms in China are now increasingly facing labour issues with migrant workers, many from the vast countryside, demanding better pay and service conditions.

Analysts say China is rapidly turning into a developed market from an emerging market and labour costs were set to rise. They say car makers have little choice but to accept higher costs and wages if they want to remain in business in China.