Call for the release of Chinese shoe workers
Monday, 17 March 2008 13:02
5 workers from the Panyu Li Chang Footwear Co. Ltd in Panyu district of Guangzhou City have been detained and formally arrested and detained on criminal charges for illegal assembly following a peaceful demonstration against the overnight closure of the factory and the theft of their wages and social security payments.
Take action today to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the five workers who spontaneously and peacefully walked with their fellow workers to report the factory owner’s crime and call on the authorities for help.
On February 13, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, some
700 workers at the Panyu Li Chang Footwear Co. Ltd in Panyu
district of Guangzhou City returned from their New Year
holiday. They were expecting to receive
their back wages – estimated to be around 2,000 Yuan per
worker – and resume work. Instead, they
found that the owner had stolen their wages, closed the
factory and sold all the equipment. The gates to the
factory and their living quarters were locked.
Dozens of long-term workers discovered that the owner had not
paid their social insurance and other entitlements for around
ten years. Others found that payments had
not been made for the last nine months despite being
deducted from their monthly wages.
In an attempt to seek justice, approximately 400 workers
peacefully walked from the factory to the Guangzhou Municipal
government offices. The police stopped the workers
and detained about 50 of them. Five were
formally arrested and detained on criminal charges for illegal
assembly and demonstration.
According to the report in the Panyu Daily, on February 28 the five workers were forced to stand on a podium while their arrests were publicly announced. Jian Xi Bo, the district standing committee and secretary of the politics and law committee, was reported to have said that workers who use road or bridge blockades to express their discontent will not be protected by law. The walk to the government offices, however, was both spontaneous and peaceful. The workers should not be penalized for blocking traffic since this was the inevitable consequence of the fact that so many workers were robbed and evicted by the factory owner in one day.
It is time for China to stop its systematic repression of internationally recognized human rights, particularly freedom of expression and freedom of association. The ability of workers to engage in dialogue with employers and openly express their grievances is a fundamental part of a just society.
