Read this article in:
17 May, 2000Thousands of angry workers protest unpaid wages and benefits.
CHINA, People's Republic: Protesting unpaid wages and benefits, thousands of angry steelworkers clashed with police on May 16, in Liaoyang, a city in northern China. The violent confrontation occurred when police, using batons and clubs, tried to remove the workers who were blocking a main highway in front of the plant.
According to an official of the Liaoyang Ferro-Alloy Factory, the company, which continues to employ 2,000 workers, has not paid their wages for 16 to 18 months. In addition, 2,000 workers who were laid off and 1,000 retirees have not received their benefits for 3 to 6 months. Protesters have apparently accused the official Communist Party-backed trade union of not helping to protect their interests.
Many millions of workers have lost their jobs in recent years. The Hong Kong Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy has reported that, due to social unrest, 60,000 demonstrations took place in 1998, rising to 100,000 in 1999. The human rights group also says that China's president, Jiang Zemin, is so concerned about the increasing unrest that he has told the Public Security Bureau that "maintenance of social stability" must be the top priority over fighting crime.
Sources: Straits Times Interactive, Agence France Presse
According to an official of the Liaoyang Ferro-Alloy Factory, the company, which continues to employ 2,000 workers, has not paid their wages for 16 to 18 months. In addition, 2,000 workers who were laid off and 1,000 retirees have not received their benefits for 3 to 6 months. Protesters have apparently accused the official Communist Party-backed trade union of not helping to protect their interests.
Many millions of workers have lost their jobs in recent years. The Hong Kong Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy has reported that, due to social unrest, 60,000 demonstrations took place in 1998, rising to 100,000 in 1999. The human rights group also says that China's president, Jiang Zemin, is so concerned about the increasing unrest that he has told the Public Security Bureau that "maintenance of social stability" must be the top priority over fighting crime.
Sources: Straits Times Interactive, Agence France Presse