Text of report by Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy on 8 May
[Unattributed report: "Jiangsu Wixu's 5,000 Workers Stage Strike, Block Traffic Over Gas Posisoning Incident"]
The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy [ICHRD] has learned that yesterday 5,000 workers of Wuxi's Nikon Imaging (China) Company Ltd. collectively staged a strike and blocked traffic around South Changjiang Road in Wuxi's New Area to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the authorities' handling of the poisonous gas incident; this has been confirmed to us by the local police station and hospital.
ICHRD has learned that on 29 April some unknown gas was reported in the company's factory area, which caused discomfort and hospitalization of over 50 workers; from 29 April to 6 May, some workers were still sickened by the odor of the poisonous gas; the company's staff and workers suspected that sulphur dioxide in the factory's workshop was the cause of the workers' poisoning; however on 6 May Wuxi New Area government said that the workers' poisoning was caused by the wafting of poisonous gas from other companies to the factory. Nikon employees were strongly upset by the New Area government's shielding of Nikon Company; starting yesterday morning 5,000 Nikon employees collectively staged a strike and blocked traffic on South Changjiang Road to stage demonstration, which lasted from around 0900 hours till 1500 hours and caused traffic congestion. The police station in charge of the industrial parks in New Area has confirmed the demonstration to us; a public security personnel at the police station said no more workers were blocking traffic or demonstrating today, a day off for the company. We telephoned New Area Hospital's fourth floor in-patient department and the doctor said that eight workers were very seriously poisoned; they would fall after walking for a few steps and the cause of the poisoning was sulphur dioxide. ICHRD has learned that over 50 employees felt discomfort and vomited when they were on graveyard shift in the same workshop at 0100 hours on 29 April; all eight hospitalized workers are from the same workshop; therefore New Area environmental protection department was obviously shielding Nikon Company by claiming that the poisoning was caused by poisonous gas wafting from other companies; in handling environmental protection issues caused by large foreign-funded enterprises, most local governments in China are shielding the enterprises' interests instead of the employees' or residents' interests; besides, China does not allow the establishment of independent trade unions; workers who step forward to fight for this right will definitely be fired.
According to Nikon's own data, the wholly-owned plant of Japan Nikon Company Ltd. in China was established in 2002 with an investment of $96 million and more than 5,000 workers; the factory primarily produces digital cameras and camera lenses.
[Dated] 8 May 2010
Source: Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Hong Kong, in Chinese 8 May 10