As the photographs demonstrate, the protests have been met with a heavy police presence. Workers can be seen wearing orange and blue worksuits, blocking the street outside the factory, while police are equipped with riot shields and truncheons.

One worker named Liu told China Labor Watch that a number of workers were struck by cars pushing their way through the crowd during a particularly tense moment, while others were allegedly attacked by police dogs. Liu also said that Stella management told workers that it would only pay into the housing fund for employees who have purchased or are renting in Dongguan, contrary to government guidelines.

A long-time manufacturing base, Dongguan has seen its share of labor strife. Last year’s Yue Yuan shoe factory strike saw up to 15,000 workers go on strike. The government eventually ordered Yue Yuan to pay tens of millions of yuan in unpaid housing and social insurance payments to 48,000 of its employees.

The post Riot Police Arrive As 5,000 Nike, Reebok Shoe Factory Workers Walk Off The Job appeared first on The Nanfang.

Workers from Wasstop, a subsidiary of Taiwanese company Wintek, gathered outside of the company to protest.

Hundreds of workers at one of Apple’s suppliers in Dongguan were on strike Tuesday and Wednesday after the company failed to give the workers mooncakes and an RMB 600 ($98) bonus, reported Nandu on September 10.

Workers at the Masstop Liquid Crystal Display Company, blocked a major intersection at Shilong Road and Huancheng Road in Sanyuan Industrial Park, causing traffic congestion, the report said.

The government has banned officials from giving mooncakes to employees in an effort to reign in corruption. Of course, the mooncakes aren’t really the issue, rather it’s the bonuses that typically accompany them. Nonetheless, the law has led to a sharp drop in sales among mooncake suppliers across the country.

One unidentified worker said that the company typically gives a holiday bonus for Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival to employees who have worked at the company for over a year. This year however, the bonus for Mid-Autumn Festival was absent, without any explanation.

Police vehicles at the protesting scene

Although Apple distanced itself from Masstop following a labour strike in 2009,  Globalpost reported, the optics aren’t particularly good. With the tech giant launching its new iPhones earlier this week, “strike” and “protest” probably aren’t the sort of headlines the company is looking for.

Apple had no comment regarding the protest. By 18:00 on Wednesday, about 80% of workers had returned to work.

Photos: China News 

The post No Mooncakes, No work! Workers at Apple’s Supplier in Dongguan on Strike appeared first on The Nanfang.

The Dongguan Meishengda Municipal Engineering Co Ltd. were awarded a contract with the local Wancheng government to oversee the district’s landscaping and sanitation work. However, the sanitation workers defiantly refused to sign the contract claiming it was nothing more than a sheet of blank paper. According to Lin Junguo, a 59 year-old sanitation worker who has been sweeping Dongguan streets for nearly 20 years, the contract made no mention of the name of the employer, the salary, the length of the contract, or annual leave.

Of the 700 workers presented with the agreement, approximately 200 refused to sign. Those who objected were dismissed and replaced with new workers.

The violence erupted around 6:30am on August 25 when 40 workers gathered at Dongmen Square with the intention of taking their case to the local petition bureau. According to witnesses, four vans suddenly arrived carrying 20 or so tattooed young men with meter-long steel pipes. The men then attacked anyone wearing a sanitation uniform. The assault lasted approximately three minutes.

The company denied any involvement in the incident, and dismissed the accusation that they had hired triad members to attack the workers. According to the company, three workers who had been hired to replace those who refused to sign the new contract were responsible. Earlier that day, they had been assaulted by several of the dismissed workers. But when the newspaper interviewed the three injured workers, they denied any involvement: “(They were) not sent by us. If you have any questions, you should ask our boss,” one of the three injured workers said.

According to the SCMP, among construction companies, hiring triad members to “keep workers in line” is not an uncommon practice.

More than 10 sanitation workers were injured with two needing further surgery. Two passer-bys were also injured during the beating. The police have arrested seven suspects.

Here are some of the images:

Photos: Guangzhou Daily; sina weibo

The post Thugs Beat Up Sanitation Workers in Dongguan Contract Dispute appeared first on The Nanfang.