Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contractor, which has been plagued by a string of worker suicides, has again raised monthly salaries for employees in a south China factory.

The rise, which will start from October, is the second this year for Foxconn workers at its production base in Shenzhen.

Assembly workers would get a pay rise of about 66 percent to bring salaries to 2,000 yuan (US$298.5) per month, said company spokesman Liu Kun.

The hike would benefit about 85 percent of workers at the Shenzhen factory, which employed more than 400,000 people, said Liu.

In June, Foxconn increased salaries by 30 percent, from 900 yuan to 1,200 yuan, for its Shenzhen employees.

"I cannot believe the company will raise salaries for a second time within a year. It means my monthly salary will double," said Wang Xuchu, a Foxconn worker from the central Henan Province, Friday.

The legal minimum wage in Shenzhen is 1,100 yuan per month.

Foxconn, whose parent company is the Taiwan-based Hon Hai Group, makes computers, game consoles and mobile phones for companies, including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Nokia.

A series of suicides at the company's Shenzhen factory earlier this year prompted executives to improve conditions for workers, including hiking salaries and organizing activities to boost morale and cherish life.

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2010)