>Labour protests erupt in southern China
>Mon Apr 8, 4:38 AM ET
>
>BEIJING (Reuters) - Labour protests over back pay and inadequate welfare
>have erupted in two cities in south China in a wave of worker unrest,
>rights groups and witnesses said on Monday.
>
>
>More than 1,500 enraged migrant workers sacked by a bankrupt toy factory in
>the city of Dongguan staged protests over the weekend to demand back pay,
>the U.S.-based group China Labour Watch said.
>
>Demonstrations in Dongguan, 50 km (30 miles) from Guangzhou, flared after
>the Shuihe Electronics Factory told its remaining employees to pack and
>leave immediately, the group said in a statement.
This abhorrent worker treatment is the result of today's global outsourcing scene. This is a nebulous system with blurring divisions between and within labor and capital. The "firms" here are nearly impossible to identify. Is the parent company the firm? Is the licensee the firm? How about the jobber? or the broker? subcontractor? sub-subcontractor? sub-sub-subcontractor? And where are they located? Wasn't it Guangdong? I could have sworn it was Guangdong...it was in Guangdong yesterday...what about my pay?
Diane