More than a thousand workers at Sanyo Huaqiang Laser Electronics in Shenzhen’s Longhua district staged a one day strike last week over working conditions and a planned merger with a factory in another district in downtown Shenzhen.

A small work stoppage on the evening of Tuesday 9 November was followed by a fully-fledged strike on Wednesday which blocked the adjacent highway. Anti-riot police were called in and two workers were reportedly beaten and detained

Workers were protesting because the company reportedly told them they would lose their jobs unless they agreed to move to the company’s main factory in Meilin district. In addition, they complained that after the company increased basic salaries to 1,100 yuan per month this year, inline with Shenzhen’s new minimum wage, it quadrupled the cost of food in the staff canteen.

After excessive overtime, workers said they could earn around 2,000 yuan a month before tax but the company’s social security and medical insurance contributions were still calculated according to the basic wage.

The predominately women workers further complained that their salaries were one half to two third’s of their male co-workers’ salaries and that conditions in the women’s dormitories were appalling.

The strike ended after management agreed to negotiate.