Panasonic offers pollution pay to workers in 'toxic' Beijing
'Nuclear winter' in Beijing leads Panasonic to compensate staff for severity of Chinese pollution

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
JAPANESE electronics firm Panasonic has announced a new pollution-related "hardship bonus" to workers who live in Beijing.
Employees in China's smog-plagued capital will receive a bump in pay for enduring conditions Chinese scientists say are beginning to resemble a "nuclear winter". The deal comes as part of Panasonic's latest round of pay negotiations, the BBC reports.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang declared a "war on pollution" in his opening address at this year's annual meeting of the Chinese parliament, known as the National People's Congress.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Air pollution regularly reaches hazardous levels in China. Last week, scientists compared the situation to a nuclear winter and revealed that the toxic smog was now even impeding photosynthesis in plants, something that could end up "wreaking havoc" on the country's food supply.
Conditions in China are so bad that many Japanese workers are reluctant to relocate, but Panasonic is hoping that the pay increase will create an incentive to move.
The Japanese electronics firm is the first to explicitly acknowledge the severity of the problem, the Financial Times says.
"That's the first time I've heard any company be quite so brazen about it," said Robert Parkinson, head of Beijing-based recruiter RMG Selection. "The normal style would be to dress it up as a 'developing country allowance'. It's a bit like saying we know we are exposing you to something that could be life-threatening. We're going to admit it and compensate you for it."
Several Western embassies have installed air filtration systems for diplomats living in Beijing, and many global firms are struggling to convince foreign workers to move to the Chinese capital, the Financial Times says.
Governmental efforts to reduce smog have had limited success, due to the country's reliance on coal power. A recent analysis of air quality across 74 Chinese cities revealed that only four met national air quality standards.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Libya floods: death toll set to rise with 10,000 reported missing
More than 6,000 people reported dead, with hundreds of bodies still washing ashore
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
Thousands feared dead in catastrophic Libya flooding
Speed Read A powerful Mediterranean storm pummeled Libya's northeast coast, wiping out entire neighborhoods
By Peter Weber Published
-
Huge earthquake on Turkey-Syria border leaves thousands dead
feature Rescue teams in both countries are continuing to search for survivors after second quake hits
By Asya Likhtman Published
-
World population hits eight billion: why the milestone matters
feature Estimates on how many people can live sustainably on the planet ‘vary widely’
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
1.5C global warming threshold to be passed within a decade
Speed Read Scientists are ‘alarmed’ by acceleration to ‘hotter, hellish future’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
UK and Europe’s unseasonably warm weather
feature The continent is still seeing higher than average temperatures amid fears over climate change
By Fred Kelly Published
-
Climate activists arrested after throwing mashed potatoes at Monet painting
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Climate protesters throw tomato soup on Van Gogh painting
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published