Panasonic to pay pollution compensation

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has announced it is to pay wage compensation to all employees sent to China, to account for the latter country's hazardous air pollution.

The move is the first of its kind taken by an international company and is part of a wider deal that was agreed in Japan's annual labour talks, where major firms including Panasonic and Toyota vowed to increase workers' salaries to address concern about an economic slowdown when sales tax rises take place next month.

Though Panasonic is yet to provide details about the premium, or say how many expatriate workers it employs in China, a company document issued after the labour talks confirmed that it will pay expatriates premium compensate for a "different living environment",  with a "special review" for any worker sent to Chinese cities.

It comes after Chinese environment officials last week confirmed that the country's air quality was below national standards in almost all of its major cities in 2013, leading to the country's premier Li Keqiang declaring a "war" on pollution.

According to the data, only three of the 74 cities monitored by the government met its new air quality standards last year - something that has led to several health concerns, explained Wu Xiaoqing, China's vice minister of environment protection.

In its new document, Panasonic specifically references increases in PM 2.5 – the small particles that penetrate the lungs and the concentration of which is linked to respiratory-related deaths.

The World Health Organization's safety guidelines stand at 25 micrograms, yet levels of PM 2.5 have repeatedly reached more than 400 micrograms per cubic metre, which is more than 16 times the advised limit.

In order to combat the pollution, the Chinese government is planning to shut down 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces in 2014, as well as cleaning up major coal-burning power plants, and removing six million high-emission vehicles from the roads.

In the meantime, Panasonic has confirmed that any worker sent to China will receive adequate monetary compensation for their efforts.