More than 1,000 workers at a plant in Shanghai have been on strike for at least two days, some clashing with police, to protest staff being laid off, a rights group said yesterday.
Several workers were injured in conflicts with police at the factory, owned by a Singapore electronics firm that supplies companies including Apple and computer maker Hewlett Packard, US-based China Labor Watch said in a statement.
The protest broke out on Wednesday after the company laid off about 1,000 people.
Staff claimed they were fired without notice and given inadequate compensation, China Labor Watch said. The workers were laid off because the company plans to move production elsewhere.
The strike appeared to be continuing yesterday, with more than 50 workers wearing blue uniform jackets standing inside the factory as police in two vehicles looked on.
The factory’s owner, Singapore-based Hi-P International, said the impact of the strike was “very minimal” and said it was “working with the relevant authorities.”
Shanghai police could not be reached for comment yesterday. A police statement on Thursday put the number of strikers at more than 100 and said they blocked the gate of the factory — which makes home appliances — and disrupted production.
The unrest comes as China’s exports and manufacturing activity weaken, hit by falling demand caused by economic woes in Europe and the US.
Last month, more than 7,000 workers went on strike at a factory making New Balance, Adidas and Nike shoes in Guangdong Province, clashing with police in a protest over layoffs and wage cuts. Also last month, hundreds of female workers walked off the job at a bra factory in Shenzhen, the manufacturing metropolis that borders Hong Kong, to demand overtime payments.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
RSS