Spartacus's blog

Workers' struggles in China (March 2010 Part 1)

Submitted by Spartacus on Mar 16 2010 15:59

Summaries and links to news reports of workers' struggles around China in the first half of March up to the 15th.

1st: Dissidents and petitioners in China are facing increased pressure from authorities in the run up to a parliamentary session.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/meeting-03012010141352.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30790/
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=28931&t=China%3A+++Beijing%2C+the+list+of+arrests+and+convictions+for+the+NPC

Workers' struggles in Asia (March 2010 Part 1)

Submitted by Spartacus on Mar 16 2010 15:53

Summary and links to news stories of workers' struggles around Asia (excluding China) in the first half of March up to the 15th.

Cambodia

2nd: Several protests over land seizures.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010030533113/National-news/mondulkiri-villagers-to-blame-over-land-row-chief.html
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010030232925/National-news/takhmao-protest-pre-empted.html

Workers' struggles in Asia (February 2010 Part 2)

Submitted by Spartacus on Mar 4 2010 11:36

Summary and links to news stories of workers' struggles around Asia (excluding mainland China and Hong Kong) in February from the 11th to the 28th.

Sorted by country in alphabetical order.

Indonesia

14th: Activist demand prtoection for domestic workers.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/14/activists-demand-domestic-worker-law.html
23rd: Teachers strike in Central Java.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/23/teachers-strike-central-java-regency.html

Myanmar:

Workers' struggles in China (February 2010 Part 2)

Submitted by Spartacus on Mar 1 2010 11:31

Summaries and links to news reports of workers' struggles around China (now including Hong Kong) from the 10th to 28th of February.

18th: Article on the "Ant Tribe", underemployed graduates in China's cities.
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2010/02/a-million-frustrated-graduates-swarm-squalid-colonies-posing-a-social-quandary/

21st: Update and petition for Liu Hanhuang, a worker sentenced to death after killing two managers in a fight after his employers refused to pay compensation for an injury at work.

Workers' struggles in China (February 2010 Part 1)

Submitted by Spartacus on Feb 13 2010 03:09

Summaries and links to news reports of workers' struggles around China (now including Hong Kong) up to the 10th of February.

3rd: Article on land grabs.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/china/article/759704--peasant-blood-runs-in-china-land-grab

5th: The government warns employers to pay migrant workers before the Chinese New Year, saying officials responsible for mass incidents would be punished.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/29156/
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/972/

Workers' struggles in Asia (February 2010 Part 1)

Submitted by Spartacus on Feb 13 2010 03:06

Summary and links to news stories of workers' struggles around Asia (excluding mainland China and Hong Kong) in February up to the 10th.

Sorted by country in alphabetical order.

Cambodia

8th: Villagers protest against electricity rate hikes.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010020831737/National-news/villagers-threaten-to-continue-protests-against-electricity-rates.html
10th: Tv workers to strike.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010021031859/National-news/apsara-tv-staff-to-strike.html

Workers' struggles in China (January 2010 Part 2)

Submitted by Spartacus on Feb 1 2010 16:35

Summaries and links to news reports of workers' struggles around China (now including Hong Kong) in the last half of January.

Listed by date, most recent first.

Article in Chinese magazine urging collective bargaining.
http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/100649

28th:

Staff at a Panasonic factory in Beijing are demonstrating to demand better severance pay.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2010-01/28/content_9390550.htm

26th:

Workers' struggles in Asia (January 2010 Part 2)

Submitted by Spartacus on Feb 1 2010 16:22

Summary and links to news stories of workers' struggles around Asia (excluding mainland China and Hong Kong) in the last half of January.

Sorted by country in alphabetical order.

Cambodia

25th: A union plans demonstrations and strikes over the murder of one of their leaders was killed.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010012531034/National-news/chea-mony-strike-must-follow-the-law-ministry.html
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1162315&lang=eng_news

Workers' struggles in Asia (January 2010)

Submitted by Spartacus on Jan 16 2010 13:28

Summary and links to news stories of workers' struggles around Asia (exluding mainland China) in the first month of the decade (as of the 16th of January).

Sorted by country in alphabetical order.

Cambodia

Workers at a shoe factory walk out over sacking of union officials.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010011430831/National-news/workers-at-shoe-factory-pledge-to-extend-protest-against-firings.html
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010011530872/National-news/shoe-factory-protesters-turn-up-heat.html

Hong Kong

Workers' struggles in China (January 2010)

Submitted by Spartacus on Jan 16 2010 10:53

Summaries and links to news reports of workers' struggles around China in the first month of the decade (as of the 16th of January).

Listed by date, most recent first.

15th:
Workers striking over unpaid wages in Suzhou, Jiangsu province smashed vehicles and blocked roads.
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2010/01/workers-riot-in-suzhou/
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/16/content_12818239.htm

14th:
Protest over a death during a forced land eviction in Pizhou, Jiangsu province.

Workers' struggles around Asia (October 2009)

Submitted by Spartacus on Nov 12 2009 13:09

A round-up of links to reports about workers' struggles in Cambodia, Korea and Thailand.

I apologise for not being as thorough as usual, but my PC was stolen last month, I was without internet for two weeks, and tomorrow I'm going on holiday. Hopefully I can go back to normal in December, here's what I've found over the last couple of week:s

Interesting article on labour rights NGOs trying to use corporate social responsibility programs.

Workers' struggles in China (October 2009)

Submitted by Spartacus on Nov 1 2009 11:07

A round-up of links to reports about struggles in China.

September 30th: China Worker on 60th anniversary of Chinese Revolution.
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/849/?ls-art0=15

October 16th: Swedish socialist banned from China.
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/860/
and three days later the same happened to a Chinese activist who was involved in the events of 1989.
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/865/

Workers' struggles in China (September 2009)

Submitted by Spartacus on Sep 25 2009 15:28

A round-up of links to reports about struggles in China.

Workers at hi-tech giant Intel in Chengdu, Sichuan Province (south-west China) struck over pay differences between local workers and workers from Shanghai: http://www.china-labour.org.hk/en/node/100558

Protests against pollution continue with protests in the south-eastern province of Fujian centred around lead poisoning from a battery factory, involving the blocking of a highway:

Workers' struggles around Asia (September 2009)

Submitted by Spartacus on Sep 25 2009 15:23

A round-up of links to reports about workers' struggles around Asia (excluding China). Updated 1/10/2009.

This month where has been news from Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia and far eastern Russia. And now additional news courtesy of Welt in Umwaelzung (listed first).

Indonesia

Update on pollution protests in China

Submitted by Spartacus on Sep 7 2009 12:34

The huge number of cases of lead poisoning and other forms of pollution throughout China continue to trigger protests even as authorities attempt the issues. Here are some updates on what's going on.

In Wenping, Hunan, 15 people involved in a protest at the start of last month were arrested, then released with a reprimand. However, bizarrely, authorities claimed that followers of the banned religious sect Falun Gong were involved in the protest.

Various protests from Cambodia to Malaysia, and Sweden.

Submitted by Spartacus on Aug 25 2009 13:09

Here are some links to articles on various protests that have taken place recently in Cambodia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and a strike by Vietnamese workers in Sweden.

Villagers in Cambodia have sent representatives to the government baring a petition asking for action over land grabs, which are becoming more common. 80% of the population live in rural areas, and there is no safety net, but as over 90% of land has no legal title (mostly destroyed under the Khmer Rouge) it is easy for companies, the rich and powerful etc. to simply take land.

Indonesian villagers blockade nickel mine, win concessions

Submitted by Spartacus on Aug 24 2009 12:53

Villagers in Sorowako, Sulawesi, blockaded a major road to a mine owned by Inco, Indonesia's largest nickel company, after it announced restructuring plans.

The plans involved 87 lay-offs effective immediately, but up to 600 by the end of the year. Many villagers either work at the mine or have relatives who do. Management met with them and agreed to better severance packages as well as promising to find them employment in community projects.

Reports here:

New report on the state of the worker's movement in China

Submitted by Spartacus on Aug 12 2009 12:03

China Labour Bulletin published a report based on a study of 100 different workers' protests, which found that workers there are becoming more effective in organising outside union structures.

Covering two years of struggles, the study found the following trends:

Quote:
* Workers took matters into their own hands. Bypassing the largely ineffectual official trade union, they used public protest as a means of forcing local governments to intercede on their behalf. And, in many cases, workers were successful.

Recent events in China (July)

Submitted by Spartacus on Aug 8 2009 10:02

Taxis strikes, environmental protests, sit-ins and the aftermath of other events previously reported on libcom.

Two taxi strikes in the last week, in north and south east China. One in Heilongjiang:

http://www.tibetanreview.net/news.php?cat=2&&id=3949
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/30/content_11797814.htm

And a more aggressive one in Zhejiang:

http://www.tibetanreview.net/news.php?cat=2&&id=3926
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/29/content_11794282.htm

Sources for news on Asia

Submitted by Spartacus on Aug 8 2009 09:06

I'm going to be posting links to news from Asia (mainly China and Taiwan) for me or others to write up later. For reference, here is a list of sources I currently use to find news.

Most are corporate news, many controlled by the Chinese state, though some are independent or connected to NGOs. The list is mostly China centred.