(Broadcast on December 4, 2002)
On December 2 and 3, hundreds of retired workers from No. 3 and 4 Factory of the Tianjin Carpet Company blocked the Central Circuit and Jiefang Road in Hexi District, demanding the enterprise to pay them back their retirement pensions. A staff from the Jiefang Road Secondary School, which is located at about two bus stops from the blockade, said that since the worker blocked the trunk road, the traffic in front of the school also ground to halt.
Staff:
Why? These days there were so many vehicles congested at the [school] entrance. This affected our students who have to attend the PE lessons, because they could hardly cross the road. Our school is divided into the south wing and the north wing, and we don't have any playground in the south wing. Students have to go to the playground in the north wing for PE lessons and other exercises. All these cars blocked the road and the Jiefang Road.
Han Dongfang [Han]:
For how many days have they blocked the road?
Staff:
About two days.
Han:
How far are you from the blockade?
Staff:
Us? We are at least two bus stops from there. But our place is just next to the trunk road. We are quite far away from there. Yet since we are at the junction of the Jiefang Road, which is connected with the trunk road, the blockade over there caused traffic congestion here day after day.
Han:
Has it been resolved?
Staff:
I don't know whether it has been resolved or not. But the roads have now returned to normal - no traffic jam anymore.
An official of the Jiefang Road South Traffic Supervision Team told me that about a hundred bus lines had been affected during the blockade.
Traffic Supervision Team:
The blockade is over, so whether the problem has been solved or has nothing to do with us anymore. It is not our unit's responsibility to solve the problem! No blockade today.
Han:
No blockade today?
Traffic Supervision Team:
Right.
Han:
For how many days has the road been blocked?
Traffic Supervision Team:
From the day before yesterday, from afternoon onwards. Yesterday, the whole day.
Han:
How many bus lines have been affected by the blockade?
Traffic Supervision Team:
How many bus lines...So many of them. Let me tell you... we have so many mini-buses running on new routes. Let me put it this way, we have several dozen or close to a hundred bus lines passing through this district. Anyway, we have no idea how many have been affected. Blockade! Oh! At last they left, and the traffic returned to normal - that's the whole process.
Han:
Do this kind of events happen frequently?
Traffic Supervision Team:
A lot! This is a real headache for us.
A staff of the General Office of Tianjin Carpet Company told me that the problem has not yet been solved.
Carpet Company:
It hasn't been resolved yet. Yesterday the complaint office [of the city government] has sent us on the carpet workers' blockade. No blockade, today. No blockade. But it may still continue, and it is likely to continue. The workers are also trying to petition the complaint office. We don't have any decision yet.
Han:
Did they make any petition before?
Carpet Company:
Yes, they did. It is a long-standing problem, something about the employer's contribution?
Han:
What do you mean by "the employer's contribution"?
Carpet Company:
It is the portion of the retirement pension contributed by the enterprise. The enterprise is not going to pay for it anymore. The enterprise is in difficulty, and it hasn't paid the workers for quite some years. Also, there is another issue related to the reimbursement of the medical fee.
Han:
After all, which factories are in trouble?
Carpet Company:
They are Carpet Factory No. 3 and No. 4.
Han:
Did they go bankrupt?
Carpet Company:
They are probably on the way to bankruptcy.
I called the ACFTU enterprise branch of the Carpet Company. An official of the enterprise union said that the company owed the pensions to more than 4,000 retired workers. Now some key organisers of the blockade are negotiating with the leadership of the company. But the official said that these workers don't admit that they are the representatives of the workers.
Han:
How many workers are involved in the arrears of medical fees and pensions?
Union official:
More than 4,000.
Han:
Are they all retired?
Union official:
Yes.
Han:
Did the police intervene?
Union official:
They only directed the traffic.
Han:
Was there any scuffle?
Union official:
No, there wasn't.
Han:
Did the event end peacefully?
Union official:
Yeah, it did.
Han:
Are the workers going to take any further action?
Union official:
Now, there is a negotiation with their representatives, trying to come up with something and to give some time to the work unit.
Han:
Have they elected any representatives?
Union official:
They don't admit to have any representatives.
Han:
They don't admit to have representatives?
Union official:
But we have talked to some of them, including some key organisers.
Han:
Those key organisers...
Union official:
They are not the representatives (laugh).
Han:
They don't call themselves representatives?
Union official:
No, they don't call themselves representatives.
Han:
Then what do they call themselves?
Union official:
In any case, they are acting on their own interests and making their own demands [implying nobody is really representing others - Ed]
Han:
What's the role of the trade union here?
Union official:
Co-ordination!
Han:
Did the enterprise union offer any help?
Union official:
It did. Could they not step in? If they didn't step in...
Han:
Do you mean that the enterprise union has stepped in to lead the workers?
Union official:
No. The enterprise union did not lead the workers; the workers initiated it themselves. The union only worked with them. And about the problems facing the management, we have to explain to the workers, and let things cool down a bit.
Han:
The enterprise union only stepped in after the workers took to the streets?
Union official:
Of course.
A staff from the Carpet Factory No. 4 told me that Factory No. 4 has more than 700 retired workers, and on the average, they are owed Rmb 4,000 in pensions. In addition, the factory has never taken out medical insurance policies for its staff, as such the employees have to pay their own medical bills. He also told me that the workers at their posts are likely to take some actions:
Staff:
About this problem of ours, the factory can't resolve it!
Han:
Why?
Staff:
The factory has no money.
Han:
How much does it involve?
Staff:
How much money?
Han:
Yes.
Staff:
On average Rmb 4,000 is overdue for each staff the employer's contribution.
Han:
What exactly is that?
Staff:
Under the contributory scheme, the contributions to the pensions come from three sources: the government, the company and the workers.
Han:
The enterprise is responsible for one part of the contribution?
Staff:
Right!
Han:
That means the enterprise owes each staff more than Rmb 4,000?
Staff:
Yeap, Rmb 4,000 on average.
Han:
How many people are involved?
Staff:
More than 700 people.
Han:
The trouble in Factory No. 4 involves 700 people?
Staff:
Right.
Han:
Are they all retired workers?
Staff:
Right.
Han:
How about the medical expenses?
Staff:
No, the medical expenses are not covered. No, we don't have the medical insurance.
Han:
That means the workers don't have any medical insurance?
Staff:
Right.
Han:
And the workers at the posts don't have the medical insurance either?
Staff:
No.
Han:
So what if you need to see a doctor?
Staff:
We pay for ourselves.
Han:
Isn't it against the Labour Law?
Staff:
It is against the Labour Law, and we are going to make complaints.
Han:
The workers at their posts are going to make complaints as well?
Staff:
Yes.
Han:
This is a serious case.
Staff:
Yes, it is.
Han:
How many workers are there at their posts?
Staff:
Four to five hundred people.
Han:
Is the factory still working?
Staff:
No, it's stopped working. The factory is going to apply for bankruptcy .
Han:
So all the workers have returned home?
Staff:
Right.
Han:
You're staying behind?
Staff:
Yes.
Han:
Is it true that the enterprise has never taken up any medical insurance policies for its staff?
Staff:
Never.
Han:
That means no matter how old they are, for both retired workers and workers at the posts, they've never been taken up for the medical insurance at all?
Staff:
Right.
A worker from the Carpet Factory No. 4 explained to me the current situation of the retired workers, workers at their posts, and unemployed workers in details. She said that the workers are likely to block the road again.
Staff:
They have blocked the road for two days, yesterday and the day before yesterday. Today nothing has happened.
Han:
Has this been resolved?
Staff:
It's difficult to say whether it has been resolved or not.
Han:
Will the workers go to demonstration again?
Staff:
The workers are likely to do so. In our factory, we deal with the situation in these ways: on the one hand we try to examine the situation immediately; on the other hand we carry out family visits, you know, to do our work on a family basis. Also, we invite their representatives to come here and to meet the leadership, and explained to them the bankruptcy plan again and again. But they are not convinced.
Han:
What can you do then?
Staff:
What can I do? Now the factory is not just in pension arrears. Pension arrears are just part of the problem. There are other wage arrears! Even the staff at the posts cannot receive their salaries on time.
Han:
Say, in your case, when was your last pay?
Staff:
Well, in my case, they already owe me wages for 11 months.
Han:
When did it happen?
Staff:
Several years ago. Basically we receive our salaries in alternate months now. For those retired workers, this is not a current problem; it used to be like this. My wage arrears are not the most serious one. Some people are even worse. As for the worst case? 15 months? More than 30 months for people like Liu Jiahua!
(Someone beside the interviewee said, "The factory also owes the staff at the posts as much.")
Staff:
That's right. In the worst case, the staff at the posts is owed wages for as many as 15 to 16 months. In these ten months we have only got about Rmb 5,000.
Han:
Do you have the chance to get the money back?
Staff:
It's hard to say now. It depends on how the policy of bankruptcy works out. This bankruptcy only wipes off the external debt to the banks, while the assets are retained. After the assets have been liquidated, the money will be used to settle various payment to the staff. This is how it is going to work. So our staff can't wait any longer. If the factory goes bankrupt, there will be no money left for them if they don't have the books properly set. That's why they've staged the action (laugh).
Han:
Are you workers at the posts here also worried about the situation?
Staff
We are worried¡ let me tell you something. People stay here out of their sense of responsibility, and each month they can only get a little money. For those old women who blocked the road, how long could they stand? After they have left, we still have to go back to work day after day. You should come here and see our place. We don't even have stoves and charcoal! It is very cold here, and everyone wears thick warm clothes and quilted jackets. There are plenty of cases like ours! Just like us in this carpet factory!
Han:
You can't even set a fire [for heating] in your office?
Staff:
No! Oh Master!
(Someone beside the interviewee said, "Ask him to come here!")
Staff:
Do you hear what they said? "Don't just chat on the phone. Come here and take a look!" (Laugh)
(Someone beside the interviewee said, "That's right. See how people like us suffer!")
Staff:
The workers staying in the factory like us still have to do all kinds of work for them.
Han:
Do you mean the workers that blocked the roads?
Staff:
Oh. Different kinds of people. There are also the laid-off workers. The laid-off workers can't even get a penny.
Han:
How many laid-off workers are there?
Staff:
Let me tell you. Those old women who blocked the road are just part of them. After all, they still get the living allowances. Many others don't even have that. Let me tell you... there is one staff member who has some problems with his leg and has to have it amputated. He has to sell his house in order to pay for the medical fees. This factory has got no money. The situation like this... you know they are all saying this to you now (Laugh), "Come and take a look."