In this new format newsletter, CLB looks at the most recent developments in the workers' movement in China. We analyse the strikes and protests recorded on our strike map over the last month, and focus in particular on the efforts of factory workers in Guangdong to bring the boss to the negotiating table and initiate collective bargaining. We also highlight those workers who were injured long ago but still have not received adequate compensation or medical treatment.

Frustrations lead to confrontation as workers take to the streets

Frustrations with low pay, wage arrears and poor, often hazardous, working conditions led to an increase in strikes and worker protests last month. China Labour Bulletin recorded 52 incidents on our Strike Map in October, up from 40 in the previous month. These protests sometimes spilled over into conflict. Continue reading...

Playing hardball: Workers solidarity forces boss to make concessions

On 10 October, workers at the Liansheng moulding factory in Guangzhou signed a collective agreement that forced the company to do something it had steadfastly refused to for the last two decades – pay workers the severance pay they were entitled to. Continue reading...

Diary of a Chinese worker activist. Women workers fight for justice in Guangzhou

Last month, 19 striking workers at a jewellery factory in the Guangzhou suburb of Panyu were sacked without any compensation. Three of the workers were pregnant and two were nursing mothers. Continue reading...

Arsenic and old lies: Chemical plant worker cheated out of compensation

A petro-chemical plant worker from Jilin talks to CLB Director Han Dongfang about his struggle to get compensation and proper medical treatment for arsenic poisoning. Continue reading...