Hundreds of protesters in front of the factory of the Zybio company. Clashes with riot police. The government expects an economic recovery thanks to the reopenings. However, large groups block production and lay off thousands of people. China Labor Bulletin: Ending the lockdown won’t solve workers’ problems.
Beijing () – Hundreds of workers at a Covid-19 antigen kit factory protested in Chongqing because they lost their jobs and received less than agreed wages. The demonstrations took place on January 7 and images of clashes between protesters and riot police circulated on social media.
After the sudden easing of the restrictions against Covid a month ago, accelerated by the popular protests at the end of November, the demands for the production of swabs and other materials to detect the virus have plummeted. An entire industry sector is being shut down.
On the web you can see videos showing people gathered in front of the production center of the Zybio company. Some yell “give us our money back.” Others hurl traffic cones, chairs and boxes at security forces, forcing them to back off.
Protests for political demands are rare in China, but labor protests are not. At this time, the economic outlook remains difficult, awaiting a possible recovery in the second half of 2023 due to the reopening in the country and abroad, despite the fact that the Chinese government does not provide data on the number of infected and dead. by covid.
At the end of December the Tesla plant in Shanghai suspended production; the telephony giant Xiaomi has initiated the dismissal of thousands of workers and the textile industry has reduced its activity to limit losses due to the drop in demand.
For the Chinese manufacturing sector, the crisis is due to a combination of factors: the effects of the trade war with the US, those of the pandemic, and the growing lack of interest of young people in working in the industry because they prefer jobs that are more expensive. flexible or less heavy.
According to Han Dongfang, editor of Hong Kong’s China Labor Bulletin, lifting draconian coronavirus containment measures will not undo the damage done to workers by three years of lockdowns and quarantines. Nor will they solve structural problems that existed before the outbreak of the pandemic.
