Thousands of workers
protest over increased cost of factory meals
Several thousand workers at Alco Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-owned
electronics factory in Dongguan, in Guangdong
province, went on strike and protested outside the factory on Tuesday 27 November.
The workers were protesting against the bosses’ decision to deduct between 250
and 300 yuan from employees’ wages for the provision of meals. Riot police were
called in after protesters sat in the middle of the road, causing a massive
traffic jam.
Dramatic pictures sent to chinaworker.info show the massive police mobilisation
against the mostly young workforce. Eyewitness reports say several strikers
were bitten by police dogs and struck by batons. The police strike-breaking
action seems to have been exceptionally brutal. Unconfirmed reports say a woman
worker was seriously injured with a cracked skull.
The struggle shows once again the heroism of Chinese workers, often paperless
migrants from the impoverished countryside, who are increasingly standing up to
the bosses and fighting for improvements in their deplorable conditions. This
dispute also shows the explosive potential of resurgent inflation in China,
especially for food prices which rose 17.5 percent in the last month.
See pictures here .
