Toyota plant hit by strike at supplier

Labour disputes over pay are growing in number in China

Production at one of Toyota's main assembly plants in China has been hit by a strike at one of the carmaker's affiliated suppliers.

Workers at the Toyoda Gosei plant in the northern city of Tianjin went on strike over wages on Thursday.

This is the second Toyota supplier this week to be hit by strike action.

Another of Japan's big carmakers, Honda, was forced to halt production last week at two assembly plants in China after workers went on strike.

"All three assembly lines of Tianjin FAW Toyota have been suspended since midday on Friday," said Toyota spokeswoman Mieko Iwasaki.

A spokesman for the Toyoda Gosei said the company was still negotiating over pay and did not know when production would resume.

The latest walkout follows a strike at another plastics plant that supplies Toyota in Tianjin earlier this week.

Last week, Honda production was hit by walkouts at exhaust-maker Foshan Fengfu Autoparts.

This was the second time in two weeks that its Chinese production had been hit by a walkout over pay at a local supplier.

The strikes come as labour disputes over pay are growing in number in China.