More than 50 laid-off staff of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the largest lender in China, were detained by police when they marched to Zhongnanhai, the Chinese government's headquarters in Beijing.
The protesters demonstrated outside the headquarters of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the only legally permitted trade union in China, to Zhongnanhai on the morning of 14 December. They waved banners with slogans "Give us back our working rights, Give us back our living rights" during the demonstration.
The bank's representatives later went to negotiate with the workers, but they could not reach an agreement. At around 3pm on that day, the protestors marched to Zhongnanhai, but they were stopped by police on their way and they were detained. They were still not released as of 5pm on that day, according to a report of Hong Kong's Mingpao. The protesters were sent back to their home towns by police during their previous demonstrations.
When the ICBC was restructured from a state-owned enterprise to a privatized company, about 100,000 staff were laid off and each given a once-off compensation. Many of them are still unemployed and have financial difficulties. The laid-off staff have demonstrated outside ICBC's Beijing headquarters for many times since last year.
Source: Mingpao (15 December 2006)
15 December 2006
The protesters demonstrated outside the headquarters of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the only legally permitted trade union in China, to Zhongnanhai on the morning of 14 December. They waved banners with slogans "Give us back our working rights, Give us back our living rights" during the demonstration.
The bank's representatives later went to negotiate with the workers, but they could not reach an agreement. At around 3pm on that day, the protestors marched to Zhongnanhai, but they were stopped by police on their way and they were detained. They were still not released as of 5pm on that day, according to a report of Hong Kong's Mingpao. The protesters were sent back to their home towns by police during their previous demonstrations.
When the ICBC was restructured from a state-owned enterprise to a privatized company, about 100,000 staff were laid off and each given a once-off compensation. Many of them are still unemployed and have financial difficulties. The laid-off staff have demonstrated outside ICBC's Beijing headquarters for many times since last year.
Source: Mingpao (15 December 2006)
15 December 2006