Panasonic has become the first company to pay a premium to their employees who relocate to China in order to compensate for the country's air pollution problems.
Typically, employees sent overseas receive hardship pay increases, however, the Japanese electronics company is the first firm to explicitly pay more due to China's air quality problems.
A Panasonic spokesman declined to give details about the premium, or say how many expatriate workers it employs in China, which has extensive trade and business links with Japan. At the weekend a top Chinese environment official said air quality was below national standards in almost all the country's major cities last year, after the country's premier, Li Keqiang, pledged to "declare war" on pollution.
As recently as last month, pollution monitors in Beijing said particulate readings soared to 15 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization. That has made many workers reluctant to move to the country.
Citizens have been increasingly angered by the severe environmental consequences of the country's rapid industrialisation, among them smog, land laden with heavy metals, and chemically contaminated waterways. The country's heavy and chemical industries, its reliance on coal as its main energy source, rapidly growing car emissions and widespread urban construction have all been blamed for exacerbating the problem.
Chinese authorities have repeatedly pledged action in recent months, but experts warn that implementation will be key.
The government plans to shut down 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces this year, clean up major coal-burning power plants, and remove 6m high-emission vehicles from the roads, Li said recently. In a speech to the annual session of the National People's Congress this month, he commented, "We will declare war against pollution and fight it with the same determination we battled poverty."
