Photograph: humphery / Shutterstock.com
Wage arrears accounted for 93 percent of incidents collected in CLB’s Strike Map in January 2023. Migrant workers in the construction and manufacturing industries were particularly affected by the economic conditions in China that have led to widespread wage arrears, and they protested to try to get their pay before the annual holiday. CLB analyses this trend below.
But first, don’t miss the content CLB has published recently:
- China Labour Bulletin Strike Map data analysis: 2022 year in review for workers' rights. Analysis of CLB’s labour data collected in 2022 shows it was a difficult year for workers in China, and 2023 is already gearing up for intensifying labour conflicts if workers continue to go without representation. In 2022, China’s workers faced pandemic restrictions, regional lockdowns, and an economy that contributed to labour rights struggles. CLB broadly analyses the raw data collected in our Strike Map and conducts sector-by-sector analysis of issues affecting China’s workers and their labour rights, including construction, services and logistics, and manufacturing. China’s workers urgently need adequate representation for their pressing labour rights grievances, and CLB calls on China’s official union to improve its record.
- Rapid test kit factory workers protest in Hangzhou, union assistance is limited to legal remedy. Factory workers at Covid-19 rapid test kit suppliers across China are being laid off after decreased demand, and most of them are temporary and part-time workers hired by labour dispatch agencies. However, local authorities and the official trade union federations are more concerned with economic interests and stopping protests than with actually resolving workers’ dissatisfaction. At the Hangzhou Alltest (Aotai) Biotech factory on 9 January, workers took to the streets where they were beaten and confronted with police drones. The protest resulted in negotiations and wage guarantees, but the union focused its efforts on after-the-fact judicial remedies instead of representing workers at the bargaining table.
- Hong Kong-owned undergarment factory in Dongguan shuts down, orders 1700 workers to leave. Dongguan Gogo Garment Manufacturing Ltd. is the largest undergarment factory in Dongguan, China’s manufacturing hub, and it supplies high-end brands in Europe and the Americas. The reputable factory was reported to have paid decent wages and been stable employment for decades before recently owing workers wages and social insurance. But now the owners have no funds to compensate workers in light of the sudden layoffs. The factory’s closure calls into question global supply chain practices and brand responsibility since the start of the pandemic.
- January 2023 Labour News Roundup: Effects of post-Zero Covid economy on China’s workers. In this edition: Lunar New Year, spring migration, and migrant worker wage arrears; “PCR test economy” crumbles but manufacturing sector as a whole may see some recovery; university graduates adjust employment expectations.
January 2023 data shows property market woes affect construction workers ahead of Lunar New Year; increase in worker protests in manufacturing sector
CLB’s Strike Map and Workers’ Calls-for-Help Map both show an increase in workers in the construction industry facing labour problems. Out of 85 incidents collected in the Strike Map last month, about 65 percent were in the construction industry. This is up from 52 percent in December 2022 and 45 percent in November 2022. Out of 202 incidents in the Calls-for-Help Map in January 2023, 51 percent were in the construction sector, up from 44 and 46 percent in December and November 2022, respectively.
Pie Chart: Strike Map Incidents by Industry (January 2023)
Many construction workers are migrant workers, and the rise in labour incidents before the Lunar New Year is an annual trend. This year, however, there is a new urgency after pandemic prevention policies were lifted and workers are more free to travel back to their hometowns for the holiday. Plus, China’s property market troubles mean that even large real estate companies are not able to pay their workers on time this year.
For example, state-backed Greenland Group owed wages to workers for construction on its Greenland Community Project in Renqiu, Hebei province. On 19 January, migrant workers protested that they had not been paid for over a year, meaning that they had no way to return home for the Lunar New Year.
Another major property developer seeing workers take a stand against wage arrears and other poor labour practices is Country Garden. Last year, the company distinguished different categories of employees and withheld 10-30 percent of their annual salary to be paid at the end of 2022. Country Garden also did not issue year-end bonuses as it typically does, and indications are that wage cuts may affect workers this year. In our Calls Map, we collected incidents of workers in Xinjiang, Guangdong, and Guizhou reporting that Country Garden owed them wages. In the latter two cases, workers held up banners demanding their compensation.
The conglomerate Wanda also saw worker protests at its properties in Yunnan, Liaoning, and Jiangxi provinces. On 6 January in Kunming, Yunnan province, workers stated that they had been owed their wages for over a year, so their families had to take out loans to survive. On 17 January, workers in Xiushui, Jiangxi province, protested at Wanda Plaza against wage arrears, saying that migrant workers were not being paid. The workers took the case to the labour bureau, and after no response from the authorities for over a week, a worker threatened to jump from the building. Workers in Wuhan, Hubei province, and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, also wrote on social media that Wanda owed them wages.
The annual trend of construction workers urgently demanding their wages before the Lunar New Year shows that the authorities and China’s official trade union have not made progress on implementing China’s labour laws that are designed to protect workers - especially migrant workers - against this very issue. Corporations should be held accountable for paying their workers in full and on time in order to continue their profit-seeking operations. This year, workers are also reporting that they have been owed wages for an extended period of time.
Bar Graph: Number of Strike Map Incidents Collected Monthly in the Manufacturing Industry (January 2022 - January 2023)
CLB map data also shows that workers in the manufacturing sector are staging more collective actions. Although we only recorded ten such incidents in January 2023, the sector accounts for 12 percent of the whole, up from four percent in December and three percent in November. In January 2023, a notable protest was at Dongguan Gogo Garment Factory in Guangdong province. The reputable factory closed down after facing economic difficulty for some time. It supplies for brands including Victoria’s Secret, Lululemon, and Under Armour. Before the announcement of the closure, workers sought wages and social security payments. Days later, hundreds of Gogo workers protested again over the layoffs and their severance compensation.
In light of global economic challenges that affect China’s export industries, China’s trade union should monitor the labour situation and negotiate with enterprises on behalf of workers to prevent practices such as transfer of assets to avoid paying wages and compensation. Even though the reversal of pandemic prevention measures has improved the domestic operating environment for manufacturers, external factors will continue to affect the industry.
Our maps are free and publicly available on our website. Feel free to explore our databases and discover patterns and trends for yourself. You can contact us at clbeditor@clb.org.hk.