Labour protests witness rapid rise in China amid ongoing economic challenges: Report

Beijing [China]: Labour protests in China have witnessed a rapid surge since August, 2023, VOA News reported, citing rights groups.

Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch, emphasized that, in addition to China’s economic slowdown, issues such as the real estate sector’s “implosion” and reduced manufacturing are influencing the increase in labor protests.

Labour protests more than tripled in the fourth quarter of 2023 in comparison to the same period in 2022, according to New York-based international rights group Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor, which tracks protests in China. According to analysts, the unrest is related to poor working conditions and China’s ongoing economic difficulties.

The China Dissent Monitor recorded 777 labour protests in China between September and December 2023, in comparison to 245 in the same period of 2022, VOA News reported.
Independent data from the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, which promotes Chinese workers’ rights, recorded an additional 183 protests between January 1 and February 3, including 40 in Guangdong province alone.

Kevin Slaten, who leads the China Dissent Monitor, said worker protests are often related to disputes over wages and occupational safety.

In an email statement to VOA News, Slaten said, “The long-term problems underlying these disputes in China are poor enforcement of labour protections and a complete lack of independent and effective labour unions.”
Slaten said the majority of the protests that China Dissent Monitor has analysed are small in size, with half having less than 10 participants. He noted that 40 per cent more had protesters between 10 and 99, according ot VOA News report.

In an email statement to VOA News, New York-based China Labour Watch founder and executive director Li Qiang said, “China’s high-level economic problems ultimately set the foundation of the increase in labour protests this year.” He added, “Due to the decrease of manufacturing orders, among other things, a lot of companies face financial challenges that trickle down to workers.”

Slaten stated, “China’s relative economic slowdown and particularly an ongoing crisis in the property sector and its impact on construction workers is contributing to this surge in labor dissent.”

In 2023, China State Councilor Shen Yiqin warned of “severe” punishments for employers who willingly make delays in paying their workers. Shen requested local governments to make sure all workers received their pay on time. Shen made her remarks at a national teleconference on wage arrears before the the Lunar New Year holiday.
Liu Jun, a migrant from Sichuan province, who works in construction in Xinjiang, said he has been waiting for nearly two months for his salary.

Speaking to VOA Mandarin Service, Liu said, “It’s almost the end of the year, and I haven’t been given any money yet.” Liu added, “This is all the hard-earned money of the construction workers, and they should be paid after the work is done.”

Ma Hui, a construction worker from Hebei province who also works in Xinjiang, said her boss did not pay workers for three-months in 2023 and only provided workers with noodles, salt and light soy sauce to eat.

Speaking to VOA Mandarin, Ma said, “During that period, I had no living expenses for several months, and my boss wouldn’t lend me any money.” Ma added, “I didn’t even have money to buy basic daily necessities such as toilet paper and toothpaste.”

Li said local governments’ shortfalls in budget are stopping them from providing aid to migrant workers. Li wrote, “In the past, the Chinese government has been investing capital annually to alleviate companies’ liquidity pressure and reduce the overall number of wage arrears towards the end of the year,” VOA News reported.

“Additionally, they would also strengthen the implementation of their monitoring apparatus to combat labor-related disputes. But this year, the situation shifted as the Chinese government [especially on the local level] faces financial pressures,” Li added.