The
workers at the Foshan Honda plant in China won a 35% wage increase
after taking strike action which started on May 17.
The
agreement, which was reached on June 4, represents an average monthly
pay rise of 500 yuan. A regular front-line worker whose wages were
1544 yuan before, will see his wages increased to 2044 yuan after the
pay rise – a raise of 32.4%. The intern employees, who represent a
large part of the workforce and have played a key role in the strike
but receive much lower wages, will get a raise of 634 yuan from the
current rate of 900 – a raise of more than 70%.
This
represents an important victory for the workers and their unity in
the face of repression on the part of the company and the official
ACFTU “union” officials. The attempt by the company and the ACFTU
to break the strike (bullying trainee workers, sacking two of the
early strike leaders, using ACFTU thugs to physically attack the
workers, etc) failed. The strike was becoming a cause
célèbre
nationally, and there was a clear danger of strike action taking
place in other parts of the country.
A
short strike by 1,000 workers at the Beijing Xingyuche Technology
Company which makes car parts for Hyundai, was quickly settled when
the company offered a 25% pay raise. The workers were clearly aware
that paralysing that plant would have a knock on effect on Hyundai
production in other plants (like in the case of Honda Foshan) and
also moved towards the formation of a trade union organisation able
to negotiate with the bosses on other pending issues.
Seeing
that repression could not stop the movement, the state intervened at
the highest level in order to settle the strike peacefully by making
substantial concessions to the workers. Honda operates in China
through a joint venture with Chinese State Owned Enterprise Guangzhou
Automobile Group. The vice chairman of the company, Zeng Qinghong,
also a member of the National People’s Congress was sent to the
Foshan plant to try and settle the dispute.
After
getting guarantees from him that worker representatives would not be
victimised, the workers democratically elected a negotiating
committee of 16 to start talks with the company. Also present at the
negotiations was one of the country’s top scholars of Labour Law,
professor Chang Kai.
The
agreement reached is a clear victory for the workers, but above all
it represents a clear leap forward in their consciousness. They have
achieved this victory through collective struggle and through
democratically elected representatives. This will certainly be a
marker for the future and an inspiration for other groups of workers
throughout China who are discussing the lessons of the strikes in
countless internet forums. As a statement from the “Workers Forum”
says clearly: “We will try our best to spread the spirit of
struggle of the Honda workers all over our motherland, and let the
workers of all the factories in China feel your indomitable spirit.”
This is
also the reason why the Chinese state has gone to great lengths to
try to suppress the letters that the democratically elected worker
representatives have issued.
The
argument that Mr Chang has been promoting is that the establishment
of genuine trade union representation for the workers would in fact
lead to a decrease in the number of conflicts and a more “harmonious”
relationship between labour and capital, where disagreements would be
resolved through negotiation. These ideas have had an impact on the
workers,
as can be seen in the statement they have issued announcing their
victory: “Only with a real and effective communication platform
between the two sides can further disputes be prevented and
harmonious labour-management relation established.” They say.
However, the most important lesson has been learnt:
“For the
protection of workers’ rights and the right to democratic election
of worker representatives, the workers of Honda Auto Parts
Manufacturing Co. Ltd has stopped work for nearly half a month.
During the stoppage of work, we received support from both the
domestic and international communities. The support has given
tremendous boost in the morale of the workers’ struggle!”
As
soon as the workers start to assert their power and demand
improvement in their conditions, all the talk about “reasonable
agreement”, “effective communication” and “harmonious
labour-management relation” will be blown to pieces and the workers
will be forced down the path of struggle, now that they have learned
that the struggle pays off.
According
to a report from the Southern Workers Network immediately after the
victory of Honda Foshan workers, 1,000 workers walked out of a big
electronics factory in Longhua, Shenzhen, demanding a pay raise of
30%, from 900 yuan to 1200 yuan a month, as well as, Sunday rest.
They were met with violence from the security guards and local
police.Another dispute which has attracted national interest,
involves thousands of workers at a privatised cotton mill in
Pingdingshan, Henan. They have been on strike since the middle of
May, with 5,000 workers blockading the main entrances to the factory.
The workers were protesting corruption during the privatisation
process and are fighting against the loss of rights and conditions.
On June 1st,
some 3,000 police officers were sent in to break the strike and 20
female workers were arrested.