Report on the strike at Luyuan Timber Company Factory, Suichang: Workers’ Representatives Elected for further Negotiations

[Broadcast on Feb 14, 2003]

The strike which broke out on 10 February, 2003 of 400 workers from the Luyuan Timber Company Limited [LTCL], in Suichang County, Zhejiang Province has now lasted for a whole week. On 13 February, 2003, a worker called China Labour Bulletin [CLB] to express the workers’ concern about revenge on the workers’ representatives. They are worried that the workers’ representatives might be threatened by attacks from either a triad society organized by the factory directors or arrest by the Public Security Bureau [PSB]. To investigate China Labour Bulletin called the Miaogao Town Police Station, where LTCL was located.

Police Station:

It isn’t our business. It is taken care of by the PSB’s Security Team, the Bureau Chief…

Han Dongfang [Han]:

Oh, doesn’t the police station provide help?

Police Station:

Help…the policeman responsible [for helping] may not be around, they have probably gone somewhere to investigate the case, I guess.

The squad chief of Suichang County told CLB that PSB had not got involved in the strike.

PSB:

We are not keeping abreast of the case.

Han:

Any involvement [in the case]?

PSB:

No!

Han:

You mean no involvement from the PSB?

PSB:

Hmm…we are not investigating this case. The PSB does not deal with this kind of internal affairs in companies.

A worker from the LTCL worker described the strike scene on Feb 13.

Worker:

The higher authority sent a work group to the factory and the workers removed the factory’s main gate to let it come in. After this morning’s meeting, they [the work group] asked us…that as the work group was coming to take care of the case, “we can’t investigate when you are blocking here”. It might be difficult for the work group to investigate, so it made sense and we removed it [the main gate].

Han:

When did you remove it?

Worker:

In the afternoon, it is basically done by now.

Han:

Is there any worker guarding the gate?

Worker:

No, not really, but the leaders have not come yet, only the work group has arrived.

Han:

Are some of those leaders who have not yet shown up the office personnel and cadres?

Worker:

The office personnel and cadres are not coming. Their shares are fine; it is only ours [workers’] shares, which are problematic.

The worker said the leaders of LTCL tried to buy the workers’ representatives over, though the bribe got turned down.

Worker:

They [the factory directors] were trying to split the workers up, like offering higher wages to workers who would stop striking.

Han:

Who was doing that?

Worker:

It was usually the work unit supervisors who were doing it.

Han:

Did they act on anybody’s instigation?

Worker:

It’s obvious that Xu Bing [LTCL’s director] instigated them - it must have been at the board of directors’ instigation.

Han:

Has any worker accepted the bribe?

Worker:

Well, not the workers’ representatives, but some ordinary workers might think that “the arm cannot fight with the leg” [Direct translation: the idiom means that the workers (the arm) are powerless to negotiate with the directors (the leg)], so some hesitated. We became quite seriously divided. We do feel its difficult to continue the strike.

Han:

How many workers’ representatives do you have now?

Worker:

Six in total. Yesterday we elected two workers’ representatives, one as the shareholders’ representative. Last time the Factory Director said all our shares had been lost, all gone, nothing was left, so we need a shareholders’ representative. The other one is the workers’ representative, so two were elected here. Today the Commission for Inspecting Discipline, the work group and the factory’s relevant departments all came to talk with us; they came to our factory this afternoon.

Then the worker explained CLB how the workers’ representatives were elected.

Worker:

It’s quite democratic. We were in the factory’s conference room yesterday afternoon. At that time we were still not yet organized, we just spontaneously did what our conscience led us to [in carrying out the strike]. Then we got divided and organizing ourselves became an urgent issue. We sensed the crisis and we needed to form a committee, to make ourselves well-organized. So, it is how it worked.

Han:

Do the representatives elected bear any nominal [legal] status?

Worker:

We consulted the lawyers, they said everything [workers did] was not eligible [legally binding], but having representatives to deal with [the negotiation] would be lawful. [Laughter] So if we want to do everything in accordance with the laws, we need the workers’ representatives, that means they have to speak for us.

Han:

Did the workers’ representatives meet and discuss strategy?

Worker:

Not yet. We have been working quite reactively [passive]. We do things spontaneously and the whole organization is not well developed; everybody has his own ideas and works in a very passive manner.

According to this worker, there are 3 demands proposed by the workers.

Worker:

First we want to have our dividends from the last 2 years. We carried out the strike because we were told that all our shares were lost, “all your shares are lost”, it is what they [the directors] told us at the very beginning. That news irritated us and the strike broke out, then he [the director] confessed that approximately 50 million [RMB] was left, which he invested somewhere. The second demand is, some workers want them to promise them continuous employment but some don’ so we want them to provide us the best possible solution. Third, we want the financial statements of our factory to be audited and publicized.

Han:

An audit of financial statements?

Worker:

Right, audit the financial statements. Their illegal business affairs must be investigated, so that we will know how much income tax they should pay. You know for workers, we start paying income tax if our wages are more than 800 bucks [per month], so you can imagine that there would be several hundred thousand or million [RMB] of income tax evasion involved if it is the case of the directors.

Finally, the worker pointed out that all leaders from the County Government departments were the shareholders of the factory and the workers would not be easily convinced by their investigation.

Worker:

Most of the leaders of our county, all departments, have [the shares of our factory]. It puts us in a very dependant position, because the Tax Bureau and other important departments all hold the shares.

Han:

If so, will the County Government’s investigation be reliable?

Worker:

Well, it is beyond our control. We don’t think it would be reliable [laughter]. We can only work it out [the investigation] step by step.

Han:

I heard that you were looking for a lawyer, have you found one?

Worker:

No, not yet. Lawyers from Suichang County dare not come, we asked already some but they dare not come.

Han:

Have you tried your luck in the city?

Worker:

We have been thinking of it, someone did propose it, but as we are still not well-organized and things are rather messy here, we haven’t started working on it.

Han:

Have you raised any funds?

Worker:

Yeah, we raised some; from around 120 workers… all together about 10 thousand bucks. We assigned two people to keep that money.

Han:

Would you consider resuming production while the investigation is going on?

Worker:

Hmm… that is possible. We do worry that if the strike goes on, our justifiable demands could be viewed as unjustifiable conduct.

CLB contacted Lishui City Discipline Committee [LCDC] and the officer; Mr. Lee claimed they knew nothing about the event.

LCDC:

We haven’t heard about it.

Han:

But they haven’t resumed work so far.

LCDC:

Well, this case… I will have to ask my seniors for a concrete answer, how about I contact you or you me later?

The assistant officer Mr. Sheng of the Lishui City Audit Bureau explained CLB the procedures they would carry out in the investigation.

Audit Bureau:

In this case…the people [the workers] gather in front of the governmental office quite often, we are getting used to it, I don’t even bother to have a look. The procedures would be like this: if the provincial government want to audit it first, then people who are not satisfied with the result could come to our place to appeal against it. Then we would carry out an administrative audit in order to review the case. It is a very normal and correct way for us to deal with it directly.