Workers' struggles in East Asia (May 2014)

This month there has been news from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Please check out the Nao blog for more in depth analysis of class struggles in Asia.

The most important stories:

Cambodia 6: Garment workers end strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
Cambodia 9: Angkor Beer Workers Protest For Pay Hike (link 1) (link 2)
Cambodia 12: Gas Station Workers Join Cambodian Wage Strikes (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
Cambodia 23: Union leaders evade arrest after co-workers force police to release them (link 1)
China 1: Shijie, Dongguan: 30 000 workers of the Delta Electronics strike, because of unpaid social security contributions. Zigong City: workers of Hao Hua Honghe Chemical Co. protested in front of the city council with a sit-in for missing wages (link 1) (link 2)
China 4: Hundreds of workers of Ginsber Brewery went on strike against cut wages in Siping City, Jilin (link 1) (link 2)
China 4: Workers on strike against the Rubenstein Cosmetics lowering wages in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (link 1) (link 2)
China 4: Lanxi, Zhejiang: Protest by workers of the Asia-Pacific Textile Co. marched to the city administration over unpaid wages (link 1) (link 2)
China 12: Wall Street Journal: Strike Ends at Toto Factory in China (link 1)
China 12: Strike against reduction of allowances at Dynacast Electronic Parts in Shenzhen, Guangdong (link 1)
China 19: Xinyu, Jiangxi: More than 1,000 workers on strike at the Ming Electronics and blocked a road over wages (link 1) (link 2)
China 19: Yuncheng, Shanxi: More than 1,000 Steelworkers of Haixin iron and Steel Group strike because the wages are pending for 5 months (link 1) (link 2)
China 20: Strike for higher severance payments at Konica Minolta in Dalian, Liaoning (link 1) (link 2)
Indonesia 6: Cianjur, Bandung: Hundreds of workers of various textile mills demonstrated for minimum wage and Social Insurance (link 1)
Indonesia 24: Tangerang bus workers strike over sacked colleagues (link 1)

All reports ordered by country and date:

-Analysis

8: Financial Times: China labour activism: crossing the line (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5)
23: China�s workers defiant and determined (link 1)
31: In China, supervisors and managers are the new labor activists (link 1)

Cambodia

1: On Labor Day, Peaceful Protests Met With Violence (link 1) (link 2)
6: Employees of Wing Star strike again (link 1)
6: Garment workers end strike (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4)
9: Angkor Beer Workers Protest For Pay Hike (link 1) (link 2)
12: Kratie Families March in Phnom Penh To Protest Evictions (link 1)
12: Gas Station Workers Join Cambodian Wage Strikes (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
23: Union leaders evade arrest after co-workers force police to release them (link 1)

China

1: Shoe Strike Activist Held on Public Order Charges (link 1)
1: Shijie, Dongguan: 30 000 workers of the Delta Electronics strike, because of unpaid social security contributions. Zigong City: workers of Hao Hua Honghe Chemical Co. protested in front of the city council with a sit-in for missing wages (link 1) (link 2)
2: Thousands of workers descend on Victoria Park for Labour Day march (link 1) (link 2)
2: Fertile ground for labour activism (link 1)
2: Waging Nonviolence: A striking pose � labor resistance explodes in China (link 1)
4: Hundreds of workers of Ginsber Brewery went on strike against cut wages in Siping City, Jilin (link 1) (link 2)
4: Workers on strike against the Rubenstein Cosmetics lowering wages in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (link 1) (link 2)
4: Lanxi, Zhejiang: Protest by workers of the Asia-Pacific Textile Co. marched to the city administration over unpaid wages (link 1) (link 2)
7: Strikes by China�s transport workers increase as incomes decline (link 1)
7: China 'supports' workers' strikes (link 1)
9: Over 100 Tibetan Teachers Stage Protest March After Demands Ignored (link 1) (link 2)
9: Tibetan Death Sparks Wider Protest Against Chinese Mine (link 1)
10: Calling the union to account: One woman�s decade of labour activism Fired from Walmart, Mrs Wang is now gunning for China's state labor union (link 1) (link 2)
10: In China, labour activism is waking up (link 1)
11: Thousands Protest in China's Hangzhou Against Incinerator Plan (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6) (link 7) (link 8)
12: Yuhang mass protests shake Chinese regime (link 1)
12: Wall Street Journal: Strike Ends at Toto Factory in China (link 1)
12: Strike against reduction of allowances at Dynacast Electronic Parts in Shenzhen, Guangdong (link 1)
15: �Release Lin Dong� demand Hong Kong protesters (link 1) (link 2)
19: Xinyu, Jiangxi: More than 1,000 workers on strike at the Ming Electronics and blocked a road over wages (link 1) (link 2)
19: Yuncheng, Shanxi: More than 1,000 Steelworkers of Haixin iron and Steel Group strike because the wages are pending for 5 months (link 1) (link 2)
20: Strike for higher severance payments at Konica Minolta in Dalian, Liaoning (link 1) (link 2)
21: Evicted villagers occupy apartments built on their land after not receiving compensation in Beijing (link 1) (link 2)
22: Defeat will only make us stronger: Workers look back at the Yue Yuen shoe factory strike (link 1)
22: Protest by parents over rules for schooling children of migrant workers in Tongzhou, Beijing (link 1) (link 2)
22: Strike for higher severance payments at Jianle she factory in Changle, Fujian (link 1) (link 2)
28: Thousands 'surround' Macau legislature to protest retirement package bill (link 1)
28: Chinese veterans across 11 provinces mobilize in mass, seeking better treatment (link 1)

Indonesia

6: Indonesia: Support strikers at one of the world's largest paper mills (link 1)
6: Cianjur, Bandung: Hundreds of workers of various textile mills demonstrated for minimum wage and Social Insurance (link 1)
12: Tanjung Morawa, Medan: Thousands of pensioners of the State Plantation PTPN II demonstrated in front of the head office over pensions (link 1)
24: Tangerang bus workers strike over sacked colleagues (link 1)

Japan

13: Tokyo joins international protest against fast food workers' low wages (link 1)
13: Diet surrounded in human-chain protest (link 1)
16: Anti-war protesters start 3-day march to Okinawa military bases (link 1)
28: Thousands of Japanese employees protest gov't plan of eliminating overtime pay (link 1)
29: Tokyo Fast Food Workers Demand Higher Pay (link 1)

Malaysia

1: Labour rally against government service tax in malaysia (link 1) (link 2) (link 3) (link 4) (link 5) (link 6)

Myanmar

1: Burma's workers rally for rights on May Day (link 1)
2: May Day migrant protesters demand equal rights (link 1)
9: Residents join protest march against Myitsone dam (link 1) (link 2)
15: Police assault protestors in Pegu, say witnesses (link 1)
15: Garment workers protest for 6th day (link 1)
22: Natmauk farmers protest land confiscations (link 1)
28: Burma Factories Warn of Rise in Strikes Fueled by Activists (link 1)
28: Farmers plough on in Karenni land grab case (link 1)
28: Kayah farmers plough grabbed land in protest (link 1)
29: Kachin farmers protest over Yuzana land grabbing (link 1)

Philippines

20: Workers to DOLE: �We were fired for taking holidays� (link 1)
20: Union leaders go bald to protest illegal dismissal of activists (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
26: Philippines farmers march on Manila to claim land (link 1)

South Korea

8: Families Of Capsized South Korea Ferry March On Presidential Palace (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)
15: Hyundai Motor union demands higher wages, shorter hours (link 1)
21: KBS unions start vote on full-scale strike (link 1)

Taiwan

1: Labor groups protest at Ministry of Labor (link 1)

Thailand

19: Villagers protesting Thai gold mine 'attacked by armed and masked men' (link 1)
28: Thai soldiers attacked with bins and bottles as demonstrators show they've had ... (link 1)