Workers' struggles in East Asia (December 2012 & January 2013)

I was on holiday from halfway through December to halfway through January, so I've rolled both summaries into one and they're perhaps not as extensive as usual. I have also given up adding news from JTTP.cn and Jasmine Revolution for the moment, so please check them yourself (with the help of Google Translate or something similar if your Mandarin isn't up to scratch) for more news of strikes etc. in China.

News from other countries that I find whilst compiling these summaries appears on my website here though I'm a little behind at the moment. For those who are interested in helping or producing something similar to these summaries for other regions of the world, you may like to know that I am currently working on a complete rewrite of that website to allow both geeks and non-geeks to participate (the current version is horrible and unwieldy for everyone).

These last two months there has been news from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, North Korea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The most important stories:

December 2012

Cambodia 1: Strike over right to organise at Cambo Handsome Ltd garment factory in Phnom Penh (link 1) (link 2)
Cambodia 5: Strike over firing of union organisers at Nex-T Apparel (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. In Phnom Penh (link 1)
Cambodia 12: Strike over wages and conditions at Smart Tech (Cambodia) Co Ltd bicycle factory in Bavet, Svay Rieng (link 1)
Cambodia 13: Strike over working conditions and right to organise at Tropicana Casino in Poipet, Banreay Meanchey (link 1) (link 2)
Cambodia 27: Strike at Svay Rieng (Cambodia) Garment Co Ltd hospital gown factory in Bavet, Svay Rieng (link 1)
Cambodia 28: Strikes against sacking on union organisers at Master and Frank factory in Ang Snuol, Kandal Province and Canpress Holdings factory in Phnom Penh (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
China 11: Strike by ship workers over unpaid wages at Jiangsu Eastern Shipyard in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province (link 1) (link 2)
China 11: Protest against police brutality in Dongxing, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
China 21: Strike over wages at Shyang Ho Footwear factory Foshan, Guangdong Province (link 1)
China 27: Strike over redundancy payments at Wong's Electronics factory in Shenzhen, Gunagdong Province (link 1)
Indonesia 5: Protest against outsourcing in Jakarta (link 1) (link 2)
Indonesia 6: Protest by workers for rise in minimum wage in Bali (link 1)
Indonesia 6: Strike and blockade for rise in minimum wage in Medan, North Sumatra (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Indonesia 7: Protest by workers for rise in minimum wage in Palembang, South Sumatra (link 1)
Japan 11: Strike and blockades for increase in minimum wage in Medan, North Sumatra (link 1)
Japan 31: Partial success by foreign language teachers at Berlitz after 4 year legal battle following strike (link 1)
Philippines 5: Strike over wages and working hours at Brokenshire College in Davao City, Mindanao (link 1)
Philippines 9: Strike and protest by workers for incentive payments at Metro Manila Development Authority in Manila (link 1)
Singapore 6: Protest by crane operators over unpaid wages (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
Singapore 19: Strike by construction workers over unpaid wages at Sime Chong Construction Pte Ltd (link 1)

January 2013

Cambodia 16: Protest by workers over severance payments at Kingsland Garment Cambodia factory supplying Walmart and H&M (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
Cambodia 26: Protest by restoration workers in solidarity with sacked workers at Ta Prom temple, Siem Reap (link 1)
China 14: Strike by journalists against censorship at Southern Weekend in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
China 15: Strike over working conditions at Foxconn electronics supplier Xin Hai Yang Precision Components in Fengcheng City, Jiangxi Province (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
China 15: Strike by sanitation workers over wages in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province (link 1) (link 2)
China 20: Strike and factory occupation over new regulations at electronic appliance factory Shinmei Electric in Shanghai (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
China 23: Strike over bonuses and forced overtime at Foxconn factory in Beijing (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
China 24: Protests and Strikes around the country (link 1)
China 28: Strikes by teachers over pay reform around the country (link 1)
China 29: Hunger strike by driving instructors for right to organise at Hong Kong School of Motoring (link 1)
Indonesia 6: Strike and boycott over wages and employment status at Unilever in Bekasi (link 1)
Thailand 19: Strike by Thai Airways ground staff over wages and bonuses at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)

-Analysis

INTERVIEW: Student protest leader speaks on civil liberties (link 1)
The limits to sufferance: Singapore cracks down on striking migrant workers (link 1) (link 2)
Labour Unrest and a Slowing Economy in China: Unpaid Wages Spark Strikes (link 1)
Labor in China: A New Politics of Struggle (link 1)
Further strikes in China as economy slows (link 1)

All reports ordered by country and date:

Cambodia

December 2012

1: Strike over right to organise at Cambo Handsome Ltd garment factory in Phnom Penh (link 1) (link 2)
3: Protest over right to organise at Angkor Village Hotel and Angkor Village Botanical Resort Hotel in Siem Reap (link 1)
5: Strike over firing of union organisers at Nex-T Apparel (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. In Phnom Penh (link 1)
12: Strike over wages and conditions at Smart Tech (Cambodia) Co Ltd bicycle factory in Bavet, Svay Rieng (link 1)
13: Strike over working conditions and right to organise at Tropicana Casino in Poipet, Banreay Meanchey (link 1) (link 2)
17: Strike at Tai Yang garment factory (link 1)
27: Strike at Svay Rieng (Cambodia) Garment Co Ltd hospital gown factory in Bavet, Svay Rieng (link 1)
28: Strikes against sacking on union organisers at Master and Frank factory in Ang Snuol, Kandal Province and Canpress Holdings factory in Phnom Penh (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
31: Protest by garment workers for raise in minimum wage in Phnom Penh (link 1) (link 2)

January 2013

16: Protest by workers over severance payments at Kingsland Garment Cambodia factory supplying Walmart and H&M (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
26: Protest by restoration workers in solidarity with sacked workers at Ta Prom temple, Siem Reap (link 1)

China

December 2012

5: Protest by villagers against corrupt land sale in Shantou, Guangdong Province (link 1)
6: Protest in solidarity with striking bus drivers in Singapore in Hong Kong (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
11: Protest against high-speed railway in Beijing (link 1) (link 2)
11: Strike by ship workers over unpaid wages at Jiangsu Eastern Shipyard in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province (link 1) (link 2)
11: Protest against police brutality in Dongxing, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
12: Protest by retired coal miners over housing prices and retirement benefits in Ningxiang, Hunan Province (link 1)
17: Protest against seizure of cars in Guangdong Province (link 1)
21: Strike over wages at Shyang Ho Footwear factory Foshan, Guangdong Province (link 1)
26: Protest by paper factory workers over unpaid wages in Wuhan, Hubei Province (link 1)
27: Strike over redundancy payments at Wong's Electronics factory in Shenzhen, Gunagdong Province (link 1)

January 2013

1: Protest against city chief executive in Hong Kong (link 1) (link 2)
3: Protest against demolition of mosque in Tongxin County, Ningxia Autonomous Region (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
14: Strike by journalists against censorship at Southern Weekend in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8) (link 9) (link 10)
15: Strike over working conditions at Foxconn electronics supplier Xin Hai Yang Precision Components in Fengcheng City, Jiangxi Province (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
15: Strike by sanitation workers over wages in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province (link 1) (link 2)
17: Protest by landslide survivors over government response in Yunnan (link 1)
17: Protests against brutality by city management officials in Foshan, Qingyuan and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province (link 1)
20: Strike and factory occupation over new regulations at electronic appliance factory Shinmei Electric in Shanghai (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
21: Protest by villagers against corruption in land sale in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province (link 1)
23: Strike over bonuses and forced overtime at Foxconn factory in Beijing (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
24: Protest by construction workers over unpaid wages in Wuhan, Hubei Province (link 1) (link 2)
24: Protests and Strikes around the country (link 1)
25: Protest against land seizure in Nangchen, Tibet Autonomous Region (link 1)
28: Strikes by teachers over pay reform around the country (link 1)
29: Hunger strike by driving instructors for right to organise at Hong Kong School of Motoring (link 1)

Indonesia

December 2012

5: Protest against outsourcing in Jakarta (link 1) (link 2)
6: Protests against outsourcing at several foreign embassies in Jakarta (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
6: Protest by workers for rise in minimum wage in Bali (link 1)
6: Strike and blockade for rise in minimum wage in Medan, North Sumatra (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
7: Protest by workers for rise in minimum wage in Palembang, South Sumatra (link 1)
14: Protest over status and wages of village administration workers in Jakarta (link 1)
19: Protest by Carrefour workers over uncertainty caused by change of ownership in Surabaya (link 1)

January 2013

6: Strike and boycott over wages and employment status at Unilever in Bekasi (link 1)
16: Protest by journalists in solidarity with sacked colleague in Jakarta (link 1)
17: Protest by workers against minimum wage delays and rise in electricity and gas prices in Jakarta (link 1) (link 2)
30: Protest against police brutality in Palembang, South Sumatra (link 1)

Japan

December 2012

11: Strike and blockades for increase in minimum wage in Medan, North Sumatra (link 1)
16: Protesters against nuclear energy in Tokyo (link 1)
31: Partial success by foreign language teachers at Berlitz after 4 year legal battle following strike (link 1)

Laos

January 2013

15: Dark side obscured to visitors to Laos (link 1)

Malaysia

January 2013

1: Protest against Lynas rare earths plant (link 1)
13: Protest for political reforms in Kuala Lumpur (link 1)
17: Protest by former workers of Sanmin over redundancy payment in Kuching, Sarawak (link 1) (link 2)
28: Protest by workers against retrenchment in Bintulu, Sarawak (link 1)

Myanmar

December 2012

14: Protest against repression in several cities (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)

January 2013

30: Protest against repression at Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division (link 1) (link 2)

North Korea

December 2012

6: N. Korea Tracks Down Rebellious Elements in Society (link 1) (link 2)

Philippines

December 2012

5: Strike over wages and working hours at Brokenshire College in Davao City, Mindanao (link 1)
9: Strike and protest by workers for incentive payments at Metro Manila Development Authority in Manila (link 1)
10: Protest against human rights violations in Mendiola, Manila (link 1)
15: Protest by farmers over speed of land distribution at Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City, Manila (link 1)
17: Protest for wage rise in Manila (link 1)

January 2013

15: Protest against government response to typhoon in Davao, Mindanao (link 1)
18: Protest against arrest of worker activists in Mendiola, Manila (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)
23: Protest against arrest of activists in Bacolod (link 1)
25: Protest against presence of US military in Manila (link 1) (link 2)
31: Protest against corruption at University of Southern Mindanao in North Cotabato, Mindanao (link 1)

Singapore

December 2012

6: Protest by crane operators over unpaid wages (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
9: Protest over transfer at construction site (link 1)
19: Strike by construction workers over unpaid wages at Sime Chong Construction Pte Ltd (link 1)

South Korea

January 2013

25: Hunger strike against sacking of union activists in Seoul (link 1)

Taiwan

December 2012

30: Protest by former factory workers over government demand to repay compensation payments in Taipei (link 1)

January 2013

13: Protest against president in Taipei (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
19: Protest for workers' rights in Taipei (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
24: Protest by residents against reservoir project in Miaoli County (link 1)

Thailand

January 2013

3: Protest against abrupt factory closure at Vena Garments Co in Saraburi (link 1)
11: Protest over wages and sacking of union leader at Electrolux factory in Thailand (link 1)
14: Protest against nationalist protests at Preah Vihear village (link 1)
19: Strike by Thai Airways ground staff over wages and bonuses at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7)
22: Protest by workers over wages, bonuses and retirement payments at Bangkok Bank in Bangkok (link 1)
25: Protest against lese majeste law in Bangkok (link 1) (link 2)
26: Protest against dam of Yom river in Phrae (link 1)
29: Protest over overtime payment cuts at Port Authority of Thailand (link 1)

Vietnam

January 2013

31: Protest against land seizure in North (link 1)