Labour activists under attack in China
The Chinese state tightened its control over civil society in 2015. Suppression of women’s rights activists, human rights lawyers and political dissidents occurred throughout the year. Labour activists were not spared.
In December, cops raided the offices of six different labour NGOs in Guangdong province and arrested 15 staff and other workers. Dozens more were interviewed by police in the following days. The repression of industrial actions is common in China – but this was the first time that such an operation was directed against labour NGOs.
Most people were released the next day, but seven were held for more than a month. On 8 January, four of these detainees were formally charged. According to the South China Morning Post, Zeng Feiyang, Meng Han and Zhu Xiaomei, from the Panyu Migrant Worker Service Centre, were charged with “gathering crowds to disturb social order”, and He Xiaobo of the Nanfeiyan Social Worker Centre was charged with embezzlement.
The state propaganda machine launched a campaign against these activists. For example, China Central Television broadcast a half-hour news report, “Investigating the crimes of the star of the labour movement” on 23 December. “The star of the labour movement” refers to Zeng, who is the director of the Panyu Migrant Worker Service Centre. His “crimes” include inciting workers to strike, receiving foreign funds, using the centre’s money to buy shampoo for himself and having eight mistresses.
Nevertheless, many people commenting on social media said things like, “What’s wrong with inciting workers to strike when the government-controlled ACFTU (All-China Federation of Trade Unions) is doing nothing?”
Moreover, the Chinese Communist Party’s legitimacy was questioned. Zeng and his colleagues have been compared to the members of the 1920s Communist Party, which led all the significant strikes during that era. Many of them were arrested or killed by the government or warlords.
Indeed, Zeng’s centre was involved in China’s most inspiring industrial dispute of 2015: the struggle of Lide shoe factory workers. After eight months and three strikes – including six days of “no-one in and no-one out” picketing – 2,700 workers from this factory in Panyu, Guangzhou, won social insurance and housing and overtime payments.
The rulers of China do not want such victories to be replicated, especially with the economy enduring difficulties.
An article published by China’s largest financial website, Hexun, predicts a bigger round of factory closures in 2016, especially in industries suffering overcapacity. Even state-owned enterprises (SOEs) reportedly are not going to be spared.
The article says that the central government has set up a timetable for closing “zombie SOEs” in nine different industries, including coal, metallurgy and chemicals. This could add more than 6 million to the number of unemployed in the next two years.
White collar workers are also facing an increasingly difficult situation. According to a report by China’s major recruitment company, Zhilian Zhaopin, in the fourth quarter of 2015, each white collar opening received, on average, 36.8 applications. The figures in the previous three quarter were 26.1, 29.3 and 35.4 respectively.
The trigger for the Lide dispute was a factory closure; its workers demanded fair compensation and the paying of social security debts. This is likely to be a common scenario in the coming period.
If all the workers to be laid off were to choose a militant and well-organised strategy to defend their rights, as the Lide workers did, it would be a nightmare for China’s ruling class. The government has less space to intervene forcefully to prop up the economy. Neither could it repress effectively all the striking workers.
One story from the Lide dispute illustrates this. When a group of cops were ordered to break the picket, senior women workers yelled at them: “We are fighting for our retirement livelihood; think about your mums – they may suffer from the same treatment one day!” The cops reportedly were ashamed and stood back.
This is part of the reason the government chose to punish the labour activists who help workers to get better organised. Those who are arrested are the most active and prominent figures. The strategies they advocate are also more militant. The authorities want to make examples of them in order to intimidate others in the labour movement.
It may work. But even if labour NGOs in China take a step back from agitation, workers who are losing jobs are still going to fight.
