About 400 workers at a previously state-owned zoo in Shenzhen staged a strike against unpaid wages and unfair layoff compensation.
Qiu Zhongli, an employee of the Shenzhen Safari Park, said the workers staged the strike to draw attention to the inadequate compensation paid to layoff workers as the park was privatized, the South China Morning Post reported.
According to another report of the Southern Metropolis Daily, the workers had been unhappy about the state-owned enterprise's reform since last year. An employee surnamed Xie told the Guangzhou-based newspaper that the workers had complained that the company did not help them pay adequate social security premiums. Some workers said the company did not fulfil the terms of their labour contracts and their overtime payment was only 3 yuan per hour.
Mr Xie said many workers had worked in the zoo for more than 10 years. They always had to work for long hours during public holidays but the company did not pay them enough overtime payments in accordance with the Chinese Labour Law. Mr Xie said workers of the zoo's logistics department first complained about their situation to the Shenzhen Labour and Social Security Bureau and later the company repaid some of their social security premiums. But in October, the management suddenly terminated the contracts of 25 workers of the logistics department. Some workers said more than 10 middle management staff were each given more than 100,000 yuan as layoff compensation, but some workers were not given any compensation.
"We found on Wednesday night that some senior staff had left the company after getting a huge payout," Ms Qiu said. "But the compensation amount for regular staff members was too little to be fair. We've been working for the park for years and deserve more." The workers said they had lost confidence in the company management, Ms Qiu added. She said they cared for the animals' situation but the protest was unavoidable. "We are fighting for money to live. We and the animals are victims."
The strike started on 7 December. About 70 police officers raided the park on 10 December and stopped the employees from hanging out protest signs. But the workers surrounded the park's administration building and they vowed to continue their strike until their demands for better compensation and payment of wage arrears were met.
The strike forced middle and senior management to take over the feeding of the 10,000 animals, the SCMP report said. The park's deputy general manager, Huang Xianda, was quoted as saying that the layoff compensation packages were in line with official standards. "The compensation plan is based on the relevant state-owned enterprise reform policy issued by the government," he said.
Sources: Southern Metropolis Daily (8 December 2006), South China Morning Post (9 December 2006)
12 December 2006
Qiu Zhongli, an employee of the Shenzhen Safari Park, said the workers staged the strike to draw attention to the inadequate compensation paid to layoff workers as the park was privatized, the South China Morning Post reported.
According to another report of the Southern Metropolis Daily, the workers had been unhappy about the state-owned enterprise's reform since last year. An employee surnamed Xie told the Guangzhou-based newspaper that the workers had complained that the company did not help them pay adequate social security premiums. Some workers said the company did not fulfil the terms of their labour contracts and their overtime payment was only 3 yuan per hour.
Mr Xie said many workers had worked in the zoo for more than 10 years. They always had to work for long hours during public holidays but the company did not pay them enough overtime payments in accordance with the Chinese Labour Law. Mr Xie said workers of the zoo's logistics department first complained about their situation to the Shenzhen Labour and Social Security Bureau and later the company repaid some of their social security premiums. But in October, the management suddenly terminated the contracts of 25 workers of the logistics department. Some workers said more than 10 middle management staff were each given more than 100,000 yuan as layoff compensation, but some workers were not given any compensation.
"We found on Wednesday night that some senior staff had left the company after getting a huge payout," Ms Qiu said. "But the compensation amount for regular staff members was too little to be fair. We've been working for the park for years and deserve more." The workers said they had lost confidence in the company management, Ms Qiu added. She said they cared for the animals' situation but the protest was unavoidable. "We are fighting for money to live. We and the animals are victims."
The strike started on 7 December. About 70 police officers raided the park on 10 December and stopped the employees from hanging out protest signs. But the workers surrounded the park's administration building and they vowed to continue their strike until their demands for better compensation and payment of wage arrears were met.
The strike forced middle and senior management to take over the feeding of the 10,000 animals, the SCMP report said. The park's deputy general manager, Huang Xianda, was quoted as saying that the layoff compensation packages were in line with official standards. "The compensation plan is based on the relevant state-owned enterprise reform policy issued by the government," he said.
Sources: Southern Metropolis Daily (8 December 2006), South China Morning Post (9 December 2006)
12 December 2006
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