Weekly News Brief

Editor: Leo Liu

· Workers strike at the HQ of Huaxin in Qingpu District, Shanghai. (Sina Weibo, Sept. 11)

· Large number of migrant workers demanding payment of wages gathers in front of the office building of Beijing Huatai Automotive. (Sina Weibo, Sept. 11) – At noon, a large number of migrant workers demanding payment of wages gathered in front of the office building of Beijing Huatai Automotive. The building had been in use for a long time yet Beijing Huatai had failed to pay over a million renminbi to the workers. Police were on the scene. Employees of Huatai didn’t offer any explanations, rather just watching the incident. http://www.boxun.com/cgi-bin/news/gb_display/print_versiOn.cgi?art=/gb/china/2012/09&link=201209111757.shtml

· All Teachers at a kindergarten in Jiangmen, Guangdong missing: probably left over poor treatment. (Yang Cheng Evening News, Sept. 12) – On September 11, teachers at a kindergarten in Jiangmen, Guangdong suddenly disappeared. The parents of the children speculated that it could be related to low wages. Many parents told the reporter that the food provided in the cafeteria was of very poor quality and sometimes was not enough for the children. The teachers, not able to bear such a sight, would secretly give the children extra food. The teachers often got fined for this by the head of the kindergarten. An officer of the village council stated that they would investigate into this matter after they got in touch with the teachers, and the council would make it right if the teachers were indeed unfairly treated. The reporter contacted the education department of Pengjiang that afternoon. A director at the department stated that he could not comment until he consulted with the head of the department. But as of the time of this article, the department had not made any comments. http://www.chinanews.com/edu/2012/09-12/4178787.shtml

· Tianyuan Aluminum, a subsidiary of the state-owned Tianrui Group in San Men Xia, goes bankrupt; workers shocked and block the gate. (HQ.com, Sept. 13) – Being the very first domestic electrolytic aluminum company to go public in HK, San Men Xia Tianyuan Aluminum, Ltd. officially ceased to operate on September 11. The company defaulted on the wages of over 100 millions RMB to workers. The workers received no compensation and had no way to support their families. They could only block the street and seek help from the government.

· A number of taxies gather at the train station in Jieyang (Jieyang News, Sept. 13) – At around 5am on September 12, a number of taxi drivers gathered at the train station in Jieyang, requesting the government, among others, to control unlicensed taxies and reduce high dues owed to the company. At 3:30pm, all taxi drivers at the gathering left the scene and the incident was resolved. The head of the city stated that they would actively handle the legitimate demands of the taxi drivers and immediately start to regulate the market, including the reduction of unlicensed taxies. http://www.jieyang.gd.cn/view.aspx?q_aid=34281

· All workers strike at Tianyi Electronics (spaceflight instruments) in Zunyi, Guizhou. (DW News, Sept. 14) – Guizhou Tian Yi Electronics, Ltd. is a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Group. It primarily produces military products but also produces some civilian products. It is one of the major subsidiaries of Guizhou Aviation Industry Co. Two years ago, Tianyi Electronics went through a restructuring. However, the hiring competition for mid-level management was simply window dressing and the new chairman of the board, Wenbi Chen, has not met expectations. The workers’ wages stay low, yet the wages of management continue to rise, a situation which finally surpassed the workers’ tolerance. On September 13, all workers at the company carried out a strike to protest against unfair wages, the first time such a thing has occurred in the company’s history.

· 28 shuttles buses between Haikou and Tunchang go on strike to protest against shuttles that operate beyond their designated areas. (HINews, Sept. 14) – Unsatisfied that other shuttles operate beyond their designated areas, 28 shuttle bus drivers carried out a strike at South Haikou Station. Mr. Wenguang Li, Head of Haikou transportation department, told the reporter that the department immediately convened a meeting with representatives from the relevant companies after the strike took place. After negotiation, the striking drivers resumed operation at 12pm on September 13th. No passengers were stranded. The transportation department will strengthen its supervision and regulation of operations and increase the number of law enforcement agents at Dongshan Station. The shuttle’s license will be revoked if an individual shuttle was found in violation of the regulations for a third time. http://www.hinews.cn/news/system/2012/09/14/014955330.shtml

· Teachers at a private school in Dalingshan carry out a strike and demand a raise in salary: demands met. (Southern Metropolis Daily, Sept. 14) – Yesterday morning at around 9 o’clock, dozens of teachers at Nanhua school in Dalingshan suddenly carried out a strike demanding a raise in salary of 500 RMB per month. The reporter learned from the local education department that after negotiations, the school had reached an agreement with the teachers that each teacher would receive a salary raise ranging from 300 RMB to 500 RMB per month. http://news.timedg.com/2012-09/14/content_12105911.htm

· All workers at Changlian Metallic Materials Company in Panyu, Guangzhou carry out a strike to protest against low wages and use of dispatch workers. (HQ.com, Sept. 14) – All workers at Panyu Changlian Metallic Materials Products (Guangzhou), Ltd. carried out a strike on September 14 to protest against low wages (1,100 RMB per month). Moreover, workers were dissatisfied that the company used them as dispatch workers sent by Shenzhen Xiangtong Dispatch Worker Company in order to avoid the payment of labor insurance.

· Home Depot suddenly closes all stores in China, leaving significant wages and product payment arrears. (CNR, Sept. 15) – As the second largest retailer in America-- second only to Walmart--and the largest market of home construction materials in the world, the Home Depot suddenly closed all of its seven stores in China yesterday. The employees, suppliers, and consumers of the closed store in Zhengzhou were not informed beforehand, which resulted in significant wages and product payment arrears. http://china.cnr.cn/xwwgf/201209/t20120915_510919260.shtml

· Shanghai Flextronics workers carry out a strike to protest against factory relocation. (Lianhe Zaobao, Sept. 17) – In Shanghai, workers carried out a strike at a Flextronics factory, a Singapore electronics manufacturer, to protest against the factory relocation on September 17. Over 6,000 workers at Flextronics’ Shanghai factory carried out the strike and swore to keep fighting until they are properly compensated. Theses workers were unsatisfied because the company was to move production to another factory in Suzhou.

· Around 2,000 employees at the photovoltaic giant Shangde carry out a strike. (SolarStar, Sept. 17) – The photovoltaic industry is still struggling and many employees in this industry have been let go. The Chinese photovoltaic giant Shangde has sacked over 4,000 employees, about 30% of all employees. This morning, there was a rumor on the internet of a strike by some employees of Shangde, who gathered at the gate of Shangde’s P2 factory. http://guangfu.bjx.com.cn/news/20120917/388605.shtml

· Over 2,000 workers at Foxconn’s Taiyuan factory riot. (163.com, Sept. 24) – On the evening of September 23, Foxconn’s Taiyuan factory erupted in a riot involving over 2000 workers that has led to the injury of 40 people. The initial trigger of the incident involves a conflict between some guards and a worker. The guards reportedly dragged the worker into a van and began beating him. This led to the involvement of other workers, quickly devolving into a large-scale group fight between workers and guards. By the end of the night, the guards had run away and police had come onto the scene. This factory is currently producing the new iPhone 5 for Apple. http://news.163.com/12/0924/20/8C6MSR7100011229.html