Honda Motor Co  is still trying to resolve a labour dispute at a China parts plant that has led to the closure of all four of its car plants in the country.
No timetable has been drawn up of the resumption of  production, yet according to a spokesperson.

The No2 Japanese automaker said production at its three Chinese vehicle plants catering to the domestic market would remain suspended till Monday.

Honda's local factories have been closed, with striking workers at a parts plant having rejected the automaker's proposed solution, according to the Tokyo-based company's e-mailed statement today.

The statement went on to say that most of the employees were willing to return to work and the local government was helping coordinate the talks.

About 1,850 workers at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co in Foshan, Guangdong, 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. The action is being seen as indication   of what automakers can expect in China, say analysts.

One of the affected plants, which rolls out 120 Jazz subcompacts a day for export  will scale down operations to 50 units on 31 May using parts from inventory a spokeswoman said in Tokyo.

She added that negotiations on pay rises and additional benefits  were still continuing with workforce but there was no decision as yet on when production could resume.

Honda, which competes with Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor and others in the Chinese market, operates three car ventures in association with Dongfeng Motor Group Co and Guangzhou Automobile.

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

Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry  plans a 20-per cent hike in  workers' salaries at its Foxconn unit in China, as it struggles to halt a spate of worker suicides and quell rising public anger. Foxconn makes.

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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.

According to the company, the strike is the first to halt Honda output in China. The parts factory, a wholly owned Honda subsidiary, opened in 2007 and makes transmissions for the Accord, City Odyssey and Fit models.

Honda produces about 3,000 vehicles a day in China but the carmaker has not disclosed the number of vehicles hit by the production halt.

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.