Li Siyi is the manager of a semiconductor factory. Recently, he has received resignation applications from employees, which require the manager’s signature, and Li Siyi is the last person to sign.
The reasons for resignation vary; some want to return home, some do not want to work night shifts or be on call. Others feel wronged and do not want to stay, while some directly state that the salary is too low.
Li Siyi quickly signs off on the resignations, wishing the employees a bright future, after obtaining signatures from various department heads.
However, the number of resignations has recently increased significantly, prompting Li Siyi to inquire with the employees about what is happening and whether there are any improper poaching incidents.
Upon investigation, he found that the talent drain is due to another newly established semiconductor factory, which offers salaries two to three times higher than those at Li Siyi’s factory. Li Siyi chuckled, realizing why they were leaving. After all, workers do not toil for just a meager salary; is it for faith? For dedication?
Due to the impact of this personnel loss on production, Li Siyi had to report to the board of directors.
The chairman immediately called the investment bureau to complain about the poaching factory. After mediation by government agencies, an agreement was finally reached: those who had already joined would not be affected, but those who had not yet joined could not be hired. This significantly reduced the loss of personnel. Some employees whose resignation processes had not yet reached Li Siyi chose to stay and withdrew their resignation applications. They realized that finding a job elsewhere might not be as easy, especially with many being burdened by mortgage payments.
However, many burdens fell on the remaining employees, and the entire company was permeated with a stifling atmosphere, ready to explode at any moment.
The day of the explosion finally arrived.
Early in the morning, Li Siyi saw many people blocking the factory entrance, including equipment operators, various news media, police, and ambulances.
The leader was shouting through a megaphone, rallying the workers for a strike. This was the first strike incident to occur in this factory.
Li Siyi instructed the driver to stop and approached the workers. He asked them what their demands were.
The representative stated that the demands had already been sent via email to the entire factory. Li Siyi’s assistant had opened a notebook and seen their demands.
There were mainly two: the salary was too low, and the working hours were too long.
One person was doing the work of several, leaving no personal life, and most importantly, there was little reward. Even overtime was not calculated according to the law, as the company limited the total overtime hours each month; any excess could only be compensated with time off, which would reset to zero at year-end.
After reading the demands, Li Siyi told the striking workers, “I am the factory manager, but I need to discuss this with the board of directors. I will give you a response this afternoon. I have worked my way up from the front lines and understand the hardships and grievances of my brothers and sisters. Trust me, I will give you a satisfactory response. Please return to your workstations for now.”
However, the workers strongly demanded that a proposal be presented before they would return.
Li Siyi agreed and asked everyone to sit in the cafeteria since it was too sunny outside the factory.
He then began a meeting with the board of directors to discuss how to resolve the issue. After a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour meeting, a proposal was developed.
Li Siyi was aware that while the company’s profits were high, employee salaries had not kept pace. He had raised this issue with the board before, but it was always dismissed under the pretext of cost-cutting, while the salaries and bonuses of upper management had skyrocketed exponentially.
The proposal was to adjust the salaries of factory employees to the upper level of semiconductor companies in the city, optimize scheduling, and strictly enforce the original scheduling system to prevent anyone from working for more than ten consecutive hours. Additionally, they would expand recruitment to alleviate employee pressure. Overtime would be calculated strictly according to the law: 1.5 times for regular overtime, 3 times for legal holidays, and 2 times for weekends. Employees would also be granted stock options to give them more reason to work for themselves.
Li Siyi took this proposal to negotiate with the workers, who accepted it and returned to their workstations.
Li Siyi also gathered all the leaders and issued a strict order: no insulting employees. If I receive another report from an employee, you can forget about being a leader.
With the turmoil in the factory, news reports led to a rebound in the company’s stock, which had previously hit rock bottom.
Other semiconductor factories also experienced similar incidents, leading to a positive development in the semiconductor industry. This shattered many people’s perceptions that factories were merely exploitative sweatshops.
Although the factory increased its spending on employees, the positive motivation of the employees led to better development for the factory.
However, some complained about Li Siyi’s factory, claiming that their salaries were too high, leading to unfair competition and widening the salary standards among major semiconductor factories. They strongly demanded that salaries be reduced.
The board of directors could only explain to government departments that their high profits were the reason for the high salaries; factories that could not afford high wages could only blame their poor earnings.