Foxconn, the contract manufacturer whose biggest customer is Apple, is preparing genuinely representative labour union elections in its factories in China for the first time, a powerful sign of the changes in the workshop of the world demanded by an increasingly restive workforce.

FORBES: Apple's Foxconn To Have Independent Union Elections: Not That It Will Make Much Difference

However, Mr Cable has backed away from what Labour wants, which is an obligation to have an employee representative formally involved in executive pay talks.

BBC: Will highly paid investors curb pay of highly paid bosses?