The strikes originated in Honda-affiliated factories in the Guandong city of Foshan, where workers, many only in their teens or early twenties, began a fight back against their barbaric conditions of employment. They demanded vastly improved working hours, pay rises and a restructuring of the state-controlled trade unions. One of the most important demands was the right to replace state-implemented heads of local unionbranches with elected worker representatives. The strike lasted 10 days, which was quite remarkable as management, local government and puppet union officials made many attempts to intimidate the workers into backing down. Workers won pay rises ranging from 24 – 32%, but the threat of further action hangs in the air as the workforce have a further 147 outstanding demands!
The Communist Party bureaucracy were desperate for the strikes to end before the Tiananmen Square anniversary took place as they fear nothing more than a genuine, independent workers’ movement. Despite the efforts of the bureaucracy, the commemorations still recorded their biggest turnout since the atrocity occurred. These strikes occurred against a backdrop of much anger and disillusionment within the working class, especially amongst an increasingly radicalised younger generation. The popular backlash against the multinational Foxconn (supplier of components to Apple, Dell and Sony), only served to ignite the struggles further. Foxconn was recently exposed, as 12 workers have committed suicide in the factory due to the military-style administration and harsh working conditions experienced. Foxconn workers were forced to work 70 hours a week for 50c per hour.
Workers are also finding it more and more challenging to survive as capitalist “reforms” attack their living standards. The share of GDP, for example, that goes to workers has shrunk dramatically from 57% in 1983 to 37% in 2005. This is despite GDP growing as fast as ever, expanding to 11.9% in 2009 alone. The action taken by the Foshan workers has inspired other young factory workers across China to struggle against the exploitation suffered under the hands of other major multinational corporations as we witness a summer of discontent in China.
UCD economist, Morgan Kelly, was pilloried by the establishment back in May when he said it was no longer a case of whether Ireland would go bankrupt but when.
The biggest demonstrations against the Egyptian government in over 30 years have stunned President Hosni Mubarak’s repressive regime. The demonstrations were called on Police Day, January 25, a national holiday that marks the 1952 struggle by the Ismailia police against the British Occupation. Mubarak’s police force today is the very opposite of a liberation movement! It is used to violently prevent workers and youth from demonstrating their anger against the corrupt and fabulously wealthy ruling elite.