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Workers' Voices

Laid-off mill workers given just 235 yuan a month to live on

Around 3,000 workers at the Chongqing No. 1 Cotton Mill were forcibly laid off between 2000 and 2003 with a living allowance of just a 235 yuan a month. Despite soaring food prices in Chongqing, the local government has refused to raise the allowance.

Railway workers “retired” on medical grounds fight back

In the late 1990s, China’s state-run railways laid off hundreds of thousands of workers as part of economic rationalization drive. The Shenyang Railway Authority devised a novel scheme whereby workers were retired “on medical grounds” even though many had never taken a day’s sick leave in their lives.

Bank employee sentenced to re-education through labour after protesting unfair redundancy payouts

Bank employees from Guangxi petitioned government officials in Beijing after being pressured into signing unfair redundancy agreements. They were harassed, beaten and one employee was allegedly sentenced to a year’s reform through labour

Workers forced to buy worthless shares in restructured state-owned enterprise

When the state-owned Dazhou AutomotiveTransport Co was transformed into a joint-stock company, management threatened every worker with dismissal if they refused to buy company stock. The shares turned out to be worthless but when the workers tried to sue management, they were told the court could not accept the case.

Local government rides roughshod over the law

An Anhui farmer’s home and livelihood are destroyed in the local government’s push for economic development. Officials brazenly flout the law and hire thugs to drive property owners out.

Legal loophole leaves retirees with no medical insurance

When local governments formulate state-owned enterprise (SOE) restructuring programmes and policies, they very often do not think through the long-term consequences of those polices. The focus is generally on closing down or merging inefficient enterprises, with little attention paid to the plight of those who will lose their jobs.

Solidarity from the sidelines: Union passivity allows a steel strike to escalate

Union official admits the ACFTU was “helpless” to prevent a long running dispute at the Yueyang Steelworks in Shaanxi from developing into major strike with up to 3,000 workers blocking an inter-province highway for four days.

Oil workers in Xinjiang left out in the cold

When the China National Petroleum Corporation was privatized in 1999, it laid off more than 360,000 employees. Many workers in Xinjiang were coerced into accepting unreasonably low severance payments but when they protested they were often beaten or arrested.

More Work for Less Gain

Young factory workers in China, many barely out of school, are routinely exploited by unscrupulous bosses who push them to work long hours and then cheat them out of their due compensation. Those who have the courage to complain are often viciously targeted by management. In most cases workers can only protect their rights collective action.
 

Retired teachers battle with county government for their benefits

China’s Teachers’ Law gives school teachers the same status as civil servants and provides a wide range of guarantees designed to protect their income and benefits. However, in many poor rural counties, due to a lack of resources, government incompetence or corruption, teachers have not been paid their dues for years on end
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