Letter from the Editors
April witnessed a dramatic escalation in the US-China trade war, as the United States imposed tariffs of up to 145 percent on Chinese imports, prompting swift retaliation from China with tariffs of 125 percent on American goods. This intensifying tit-for-tat has severely disrupted bilateral trade,precipitating a sharp decline in export orders and placing unprecedented pressure on China's economy. In response, China's Politburo convened on April 25, emphasising the need to further bolster domestic demand by increasing incomes for low- and middle-income groups and promoting service consumption as a means to drive economic growth.
However, the reality for many Chinese workers, particularly those in manufacturing, remains deeply troubling. As our recent reporting highlights, basic wages often fall below subsistence levels, compelling workers to endure excessive overtime, often exceeding 100 hours per month, simply to make ends meet. Such over-reliance on overtime not only endangers workers' health but also suppresses their consumption capacity, undermining efforts to stimulate domestic demand.
This situation is further exacerbated as plummeting export orders push numerous factories towards bankruptcy, leaving workers unpaid and stripped of social security protections. In one notable recent case, hundreds of workers at a paper factory in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, staged a sit-in, blocking the removal of assets to demand owed wages. Despite appeals to local authorities, many workers remain without resolution, highlighting persistent shortcomings in labour protection and the urgent need for structural reforms.
This vicious cycle—where declining exports lead to factory closures, resulting in job losses and reduced consumer spending—poses a significant challenge to China's economic stability. Breaking this cycle requires comprehensive reforms, as CLB has long advocated, including holding trade unions accountable and demanding that they engage in collective bargaining, and ensuring that labour laws and policies are robustly enforced. Only then can profits be distributed more equitably, and the adverse effects of trade conflicts on China’s workers be mitigated.
Thanks for reading!
CLB editors
Spotlight
This month, CLB reported on a significant wave of worker-led strikes at BYD's factories in Wuxi and Chengdu. Thousands of workers protested against substantial wage reductions and deteriorating working conditions following BYD's 2023 acquisition of Jabil Inc.'s Green Point factories. Despite initial assurances that wages and benefits would remain unchanged for 18 months, workers experienced cuts to performance-based pay and the elimination of key allowances within six months.
A notable tactic employed by BYD involved shifting workers to a standard five-day, eight-hour work schedule, significantly reducing their take-home pay. This approach, previously observed at BYD's Changsha factory in 2023, effectively pressured workers to resign voluntarily, allowing the company to circumvent legally mandated severance payments. This practice also underscores how manufacturing workers in China heavily rely on excessive overtime to attain a living wage.
Additionally, in mid-April, CLB submitted three formal complaints to Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) concerning severe labour rights violations by Chinese suppliers serving multiple multinational brands. BAFA has acknowledged these complaints and confirmed the initiation of investigations. CLB plans to share experiences from these BAFA-related complaints with NGOs, researchers and policymakers in the near future to promote accountability and improve labour standards within global supply chains.
March 2025 Map Trends
In March 2025, CLB's Strike Map recorded 130 collective labour incidents, a notable increase from February's 101 cases and significantly higher than the 95 cases recorded in March 2024. Coastal provinces continued to lead in incident counts, with Guangdong maintaining the highest number at 21 cases. Shandong followed with 14 cases, surpassing Zhejiang's 11. Surprisingly, the remote frontier province of Heilongjiang ranked fourth with nine cases, primarily involving wage arrears in state-owned enterprises and public institutions, as well as strikes by transport workers.
The industry distribution of collective actions shifted in March. Construction remained the most affected sector with 62 cases (47.69% of the total), followed by manufacturing with 25 cases (19.23%). However, the services sector saw a substantial uptick, rising from 10 cases in February (9.9%) to 23 in March (17.69%). Similarly, the transport, storage, logistics and postal sectors saw an increase from one case in February (0.99%) to 13 in March (10%).
Wage arrears continued to be the leading cause of worker actions, though its proportion has been decreasing over the past two months. In January, 95.13% of incidents (215 out of 226) were due to unpaid wages. This figure dropped to 85.15% in February (86 out of 101) and further declined to 80.77% in March (105 out of 130). Other catalysts include relocations and factory closures. This month, 33 incidents (25.38%) occurred within state-owned enterprises and public institutions, a decrease from February's 37.62% (38 cases). Notably, truck drivers in six provinces organised protests against platform management practices, reflecting the hardships faced by traditional transport workers amid the rise of ride-hailing services and local government debt crises.
Key Map Cases
Yueyang, Hunan: Taxi Drivers Strike Amid Mounting Operational Costs and Platform Competition
On 24 March, over 1,000 taxis in Yueyang, Hunan province, suspended operations. Drivers said that the heavy operational burden made it difficult for them to make a living. According to drivers participating in the strike, Yueyang taxi drivers must pay a monthly quota payment of 4,550 yuan, but daily earnings average only around 200 yuan. After deducting the monthly payment and fuel costs, drivers are left with only a few dozen yuan each day. During the strike, tensions flared when a taxi continued operating, leading to conflict with striking drivers. Workers indicated that the protest could last several days. On the same day, taxi drivers in Daqing, Heilongjiang, and Changchun, Jilin, also launched large-scale strikes to protest against high quota payments and livelihood threats posed by competition from ride-hailing services.
Qiqihar, Heilongjiang: Care Workers Protest Wage Arrears at Prestigious Hospital
From 9 to 10 March, 50 care workers at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University in Heilongjiang province rallied at the hospital and the local labour inspectorate office, demanding nearly 200,000 yuan in unpaid wages. The hospital, one of the first batch of national tertiary-level hospitals and the first of its kind in Heilongjiang, is highly renowned locally. According to workers, they were not directly employed by the hospital but had signed labour contracts through an outsourcing company called Wanwang Medical Care, making their efforts to recover wages particularly difficult. Consequently, the workers called for government intervention to resolve the dispute and ensure their wages are paid.