- 27 Mar 2009 11:55
#1849683
By HoniSoit
There is a perception that labor movement is almost non-existent under Communist rule. While it is certainly true that independent unionism has been strictly prohibited, and independently organised labor movements have frequently been met with state repression often with labor activists imprisoned, but is it true that there has been little rebellions by the workers?
Workers protests are set to rise in the coming years
The fact is that there was no lack of large-scale proletariat rebellions even under Mao. Among the most prominent was the strike wave of 1956-57 during which time Chinese workers, mostly apprentices and temporary workers, seized the opportunity of the Hundred Flowers Campaign and staged more than 1,300 strikes in Shanghai alone, demanding higher wages, better welfare, permanent worker status and guaranteed promotion. During the Cultural Revolution, there was turmoil inside Chinese factories across the country. Though partially shaped by factional cleavages inside the factories, there were also deep-rooted occupational grievances and inequalities, with apprentices, the unskilled, irregular and younger workers making economic demands. And again in 1976, young workers joined with others in the mass demonstrations and riots following the death of Zhou Enlai.
Labor protests and strikes were intensified after Deng’s economic reforms largely due to the restructuring of the economy which eroded the privileges of many Chinese workers. The first wave of strikers emerged in 1980 when the Polish Solidarity Movement emboldened Chinese workers who were already dissatisfied. The late 1980s witnessed further discontents especially among state workers, contributed by rising unemployment, widening income gaps, corruption as well as rapidly rising inflation. There were 97 strikes in 1987 and over 100 in 1988, according to the official union ACFTU. Then in May and June 1989, workers in Beijing, Shanghai and a number of other cities took to the street, staging public protests and attempting to organise independent unions. June 1989 was not merely a student movement. The students were joined by tens of thousands of workers who also received the heaviest sentences following the Tiananmen crackdown. But labor strikes and protests did not stop; in fact, it had become a routine method of resistance in the 1990s. Internal reports complied by the Department of Public Security recorded a total of 480 strikes in 1992, 1,870 in 1995 and 1,740 in the first nine months of 1996.
In the past few years, the number of labor protests has been on the rise often with migrant workers demanding payment of their wages and adequate compensation following their lay-offs. The recent economic slowdown in China has already affected many migrant workers, an estimated 20 millions of which have lost their jobs over the Chinese New Year in 2009. While the central government and local authorities have in many instances tried to negotiate with the employers on the workers’ behalf in order to quell social unrests, it’s likely the number of strikes and protests would continue to rise in the coming years as more workers could become affected by the slowdown in exports as well as the general economic decline reflected in the large downward revision of GDP growth rate. If workers in China could seize the opportunity, and overcome isolation by forming alliance with other workers that have similar discontents across industries and regions, we may likely see some revolutionary changes.
There is a perception that labor movement is almost non-existent under Communist rule. While it is certainly true that independent unionism has been strictly prohibited, and independently organised labor movements have frequently been met with state repression often with labor activists imprisoned, but is it true that there has been little rebellions by the workers?
Workers protests are set to rise in the coming years
The fact is that there was no lack of large-scale proletariat rebellions even under Mao. Among the most prominent was the strike wave of 1956-57 during which time Chinese workers, mostly apprentices and temporary workers, seized the opportunity of the Hundred Flowers Campaign and staged more than 1,300 strikes in Shanghai alone, demanding higher wages, better welfare, permanent worker status and guaranteed promotion. During the Cultural Revolution, there was turmoil inside Chinese factories across the country. Though partially shaped by factional cleavages inside the factories, there were also deep-rooted occupational grievances and inequalities, with apprentices, the unskilled, irregular and younger workers making economic demands. And again in 1976, young workers joined with others in the mass demonstrations and riots following the death of Zhou Enlai.
Labor protests and strikes were intensified after Deng’s economic reforms largely due to the restructuring of the economy which eroded the privileges of many Chinese workers. The first wave of strikers emerged in 1980 when the Polish Solidarity Movement emboldened Chinese workers who were already dissatisfied. The late 1980s witnessed further discontents especially among state workers, contributed by rising unemployment, widening income gaps, corruption as well as rapidly rising inflation. There were 97 strikes in 1987 and over 100 in 1988, according to the official union ACFTU. Then in May and June 1989, workers in Beijing, Shanghai and a number of other cities took to the street, staging public protests and attempting to organise independent unions. June 1989 was not merely a student movement. The students were joined by tens of thousands of workers who also received the heaviest sentences following the Tiananmen crackdown. But labor strikes and protests did not stop; in fact, it had become a routine method of resistance in the 1990s. Internal reports complied by the Department of Public Security recorded a total of 480 strikes in 1992, 1,870 in 1995 and 1,740 in the first nine months of 1996.
In the past few years, the number of labor protests has been on the rise often with migrant workers demanding payment of their wages and adequate compensation following their lay-offs. The recent economic slowdown in China has already affected many migrant workers, an estimated 20 millions of which have lost their jobs over the Chinese New Year in 2009. While the central government and local authorities have in many instances tried to negotiate with the employers on the workers’ behalf in order to quell social unrests, it’s likely the number of strikes and protests would continue to rise in the coming years as more workers could become affected by the slowdown in exports as well as the general economic decline reflected in the large downward revision of GDP growth rate. If workers in China could seize the opportunity, and overcome isolation by forming alliance with other workers that have similar discontents across industries and regions, we may likely see some revolutionary changes.
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