Protests over unpaid wages
15/04/2009
Around 400 workers from Jindi Industry Group, a major state-owned textile company in Chongqing in central China, blocked a main road in the city on April 13 and 14 as a protest over unpaid wages.
The workers told the official news agency, Xinhua, that the aim of the protest was to attract government attention as they had not been paid for three months.
A spokesman for the local government said that the state-owned company, which employs 6,500 people, cannot afford to pay its employees. This spokesman cited the sharp fall in demand for textiles as a result of the global economic downturn.
China’s textile and garment exports dropped to $6.68 billion in February, a 35% decrease compared to the same month in 2008, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Some commentators have said that, since 70% of China’s textile production is for the home market rather than for export, problems such as those faced by Jindi are a sign of a slowdown in China’s domestic economy.
The central government hopes to create 9 million jobs this year by boosting the economy with a $586 billion stimulus plan. At the same time, the government has estimated that the number of unemployed migrant workers has now risen to 23 million.
Share this story:
