Opinion | China’s labour relations have entered a dangerous new phase, as shown by attacks on Jasic workers and activists

Tim Pringle and Anita Chan say the detention of workers and labour activists, plus the state media’s efforts to discredit them, show what lengths Chinese authorities will go to, to crush worker disputes

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Protesters hold banners at a demonstration in support of Jasic Technology factory workers outside Yanziling police station in Shenzhen on August 6. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:00pm, 19 Sep 2018Updated: 9:37pm, 19 Sep 2018

A group of workers at Jasic Technology in Shenzhen have been protesting about inhumane conditions, unfair dismissal and harassment. Matters came to a head when they attempted to organise a factory-level trade union in July.

They are facing severe repressive measures by the authorities, with over 60 workers and supporters detained. Four workers were formally arrested on September 3 and four supporters and an NGO worker are under criminal detention.

The state-controlled Xinhua news agency placed the blame squarely on civil society organisations and foreign forces in an August 24 article, while failing to mention that the workers were protesting due to labour rights violations and state violence. Instead, it alleged that the Dagongzhe Workers’ Centre (DGZ), a Shenzhen-based labour organisation that works in partnership with Hong Kong-based Worker Empowerment, fanned the protest.

On August 27, Worker Empowerment released a statement clarifying that neither it nor DGZ organised or financially supported the workers. The statement also expressed hope that “the rights and safety of all participants [in the Jasic dispute] are legally and reasonably taken care of as soon as possible”.

This is not the first time authorities have pointed the finger at labour NGOs. In December 2015, following a coordinated round-up and temporary detention of labour activists and workers in Guangdong province, four staff from another labour NGO were formally charged. Three were given suspended prison sentences and the other was jailed for 21 months.

Student activists, seen here in a Huizhou flat, are among those who have joined protests in support of Jasic factory workers seeking to form a labour union. Photo: Reuters