Text of report by Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy on 7 June

[Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy report: "More Big Strikes by 10,000 Workers in Shenzhen and Huizhou, Increasing Calls for Constitutional Amendment for Right to Strike"]

(7 June 2010) - This Centre has learned that more than 2,000 workers of the Hanzi Electronics Factory's "Yacheng Electronics Factory," located in the Zhongkai High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Huizhou, went on strike en masse today following several fruitless rounds of consultation with management over low wages and frequent overtime. Most of the factory's production is contracted finished and semi-finished items for a certain well-known South Korean brand name, so this strike will have some affect on the production of those items. Another incident erupted on 6 June when 10,000 striking workers of the "Meilu Electronics Factory" in Dalang, Shenzhen, blocked roads and clashed with police. In April, that factory pledged to increase base pay for basic workers from 900 RMB to 1,050 RMB, but so far it has not fulfilled the pledge. After Honda and Foxconn announced they were increasing base pay for their basic workers to 1,200 RMB, Meilu's workers refused to work overtime on Sunday 6 June and blocked Dalang Street in the Longhua area of Shenzhen. Authorities mobilized more than 200 Public Security personnel, and yesterday afternoon violent clashes occurred when they drove the workers off the street. The number of workers injured is not known at present. The Meilu workers say there will be more strikes if their pay does not reach the standard of Foxconn and Honda.

In 1982 China deleted the right to strike from the Chinese Constitution. The recent Foxconn incident and successful strike by Honda workers have resulted in a sharp increase in calls within China for the Constitution to be amended to guarantee the right to strike.

Social contradictions in China are worsening sharply. Following the 1 June incident in which someone shot dead three judges and then committed suicide, in recent days there have been two "human bomb" incidents. On 3 June, a worker who had clashed with his boss at the Xinchang Diesel Fuel Plant in Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province, strapped explosives to his body, went to his boss's house, and detonated the bomb. The bomber was killed on the spot, and five other people were injured. Yesterday morning in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, a former restaurant worker who was unsuccessful after repeatedly demanding money from the boss strapped explosives to his body and detonated the bomb in the restaurant. He was killed on the spot, and six other people were injured.

Source: Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Hong Kong, in Chinese 7 Jun 10