Strikes and protests by China’s workers soar to record heights in 2015

Just about every region in China saw labour unrest last year but in the manufacturing sector strikes and protests were very much centred on what used to be known as the “factory to the world” in Guangdong. Of the 886 incidents recorded in the manufacturing sector last year, 267 were in Guangdong, 181 more than the next highest total of 86 in Jiangsu. Guangdong also led the country in the number of police interventions in labour disputes, accounting for about 19 percent of the total 831 incidents in which police were deployed and 24 percent of the incidents in which arrests were made. On 4 December, Guangdong police detained seven prominent labour activists who had been instrumental in resolving numerous disputes. The crackdown however has done little to stem the tide of labour unrest in the province, with another 56 incidents recorded in the province in December alone.

In Strikes and protests by China’s workers soar to record heights in 2015 (CLB)