Bullet Points - Nov 2024

_{maroke / Shutter Stock}

“Who can endure 20 consecutive days of night shifts without any rest?”

On 8 October, a video on Douyin described a female worker being taken to the hospital after days of night work. Three days later, another video (which has since been removed)  reported that two workers fainted in Foxconn facility. Additionally, a video uploaded on 12 October (also removed) reported another incident of a worker fainting in a workshop. 

Foxconn factories in Henan have significantly extended working hours following the release of the new iPhone models, leading many workers to believe this contributed to recent fainting incidents. A labour contractor on Douyin mentioned that the production lines for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max would continue operating on Saturdays and Sundays, resulting in workers facing 20 consecutive workdays before receiving a single day off. While the extended workweek promised higher pay, employees reported that the reduction in rest days made their work more physically demanding and pushed them to their limits.

Similar arrangements for longer working hours were also reported at Foxconn factories in Shenzhen, one Shenzhen Foxconn worker said with a sense of humor:

“If you ask me whether it is good or not to work in the (Foxconn) factory, I would definitely say yes it is good. However, if you’re considering to come and work in this factory, I advise against it, unless you can handle the demanding environment...I work for 20 days straight and then have one day off, and I am finding it difficult to manage the day shift. How are you all coping with the night shift?”

Foxconn's "work 20 consecutive days to get one rest day" schedule contradicts the Labour Law in China. Article 38 clearly states that employers must guarantee staff and workers at least one day off each week.

_{Photo: The Protek union's proposal to the company in spring 2024, archived by CLB.}

In an unexpected move, the Protek union supported workers' protests by addressing their grievances with management as complaints mounted in the spring. 

Luxshare's acquisition of Protek has led to protests as workers were pressured into signing another new contract to a new subsidiary, Xianshuo, under threats of losing overtime pay. At Xianshuo and Protek, workers depend on excessive overtime to supplement low base wages, often working 12-hour shifts to make ends meet, highlighting the disparity between earnings and Shanghai's living wage.

Halting production on July 18th, workers at Protek took to the factory grounds, protesting and posting videos of the action on social media. The protest was fueled by the company’s push to transfer their contracts to Xianshuo without providing the severance pay due from Protek.

Earlier this year, the Protek union proposed that the company either buy out workers' accumulated seniority and terminate their contracts or honour the original contractual terms. This approach is unusual in China's labour relations system, where unions seldom advocate for workers by submitting proposals, addressing complaints, or taking substantial action to protect workers' rights. CLB’s extensive investigative work on how unions respond to collective actions supports this observation.

CLB’s Strike Map recorded 144 workers’ protests in October 2024, slightly decreasing from the 156 incidents recorded in September. The construction industry accounted for 71 incidents, making up half of the total (49.31%). Manufacturing and heavy industry reported 36 incidents (25%), while the service and transportation sectors recorded 17 incidents (11.8%) and 4 incidents (2.78%), respectively.

The majority of manufacturing worker protests occurred in Guangdong Province, with 13 incidents in total. Coastal regions were the primary areas for manufacturing-related incidents, with 7 incidents in Zhejiang Province, 4 in Fujian Province, and 3 in Jiangsu Province. The primary causes of these protests were wage arrears or disputes over economic compensation related to factory relocations.

Within the manufacturing sector, worker protests in the electronics sector accounted for the largest share, with 10 cases, followed by 9 in the garment sector and 3 in the automotive sector. 

For example, on October 17, 600 workers protested potential layoffs at Dongguan Wangxin Precision Industry Co., Ltd. in Guangdong province. On that Thursday, Wangxin Precision announced a four-month suspension of operations starting October 18, during which employees will receive the local minimum wage. This decision led to strong dissatisfaction among workers,  as workers believed it was a tactic to avoid paying layoff compensation and to force voluntary resignations. Some suspected that the factory has effectively closed but is maintaining its appearance to avoid workers claiming legal layoff compensations. On Friday, workers marched to the local labour bureau for assistance but were forcibly dispersed by police. Dongguan Wangxin Precision has a record of ongoing disputes over wages and supplier payments from August to September.

Photo: Workers Protest at Zhuhai Jiuhong Garment Factory in Guangdong

Garment factory workers protested over unpaid wages and sought help from the government, but all efforts were ineffective. On October 15, workers protested over three months’ wage arrears as  Zhuhai Jiuhong Garment Co., Ltd. in Guangdong Province went bankrupt, with all factory equipment sold. To ensure they would receive wages, workers sought assistance from the local Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and also reported the matter to the police.

According to videos posted by workers on Douyin, they had not received any wages since July. Commenters said that workers were preparing to apply for labour arbitration. Images uploaded by the workers show that on September 26, a company representative from Jiuhong Garment factory promised that the company would settle salaries for June and July by September 30, and salaries for August and September by October 31.

In the end, workers called the “12345” citizen hotline to seek government help. Some discovered that Jiuhong Garment applied to the government to deregister the company on October 9.

Workers’ Requests for Help

Hotel Workers’ Salary Cuts Prompt Government Intervention. On October 31, an employee of the Lida Shenhang International Hotel in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, filed a complaint on the platform “Message Board for Leaders (领导留言板)”. The worker reported that starting in November, the hotel mandated that all employees take three days of unpaid leave per month, which the worker viewed as an indirect salary cut. Following the complaint, the Yinchuan Xingqing District Government Office initiated an investigation.

Authorities discovered that the hotel had implemented the unpaid leave policy without consulting the employees, citing poor business performance. However, the local government department deemed this action illegal, as such an unpaid leave policy has to be approved by the workers’ congress. The Xingqing District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau ordered the hotel to rectify the situation. Later, the labour bureau contacted the complaining employee, who agreed to close the file through mediation with the hotel.

The official notice explicitly indicated that the hotel's decision to impose unpaid leave without employees’ consent violated labour regulations, reaffirming that companies cannot unilaterally implement such measures.

_{Photo: Aidan Chau spoke for CLB in this session of the UN forum.}

The UNRBHR forum focused on the critical issue of ensuring remedies for business-related human rights abuses in global supply chains, as is acknowledged in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The recent enactment of The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act in 2023, as well as the coming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in the European Union, requires companies to take greater responsibility in conducting human rights and environmental due diligence concerning their operations. 

During the session, CLB presented its research methodology, highlighting that despite internet censorship in China—which may suggest that gathering information about workers' grievances and factory conditions is impossible—there is actually a wealth of information available. Workers have been uploading details about their daily lives and collective actions on Chinese social media platforms. This information enables multinational companies to perform their due diligence checks and avoid human rights violations in their supply chains. In summary, the new laws and guiding principles can play a crucial role in improving the lives of factory workers in China.

China Labour Bulletin was cited in The Guardian's view on China’s growth limits: Shifting to a post-industrial economy is tough. The Guardian cited our strike map data for the first half of this year, which shows 719 labour protests, up from 696 in the same period last year. It highlights that “shift toward internal demand is progressing slowly, as closing too many factories could trigger widespread unrest, potentially threatening the regime.”