Chinese shoe factory workers strike over benefits

Stella International Holdings

11/03/2015 06:26

SHANGHAI, March 11 (Reuters) - About 5,000 workers have gone 
on strike at a shoe manufacturer in southern China over 
benefits, two activists and a worker said, marking one of the 
biggest work-stoppages in the country in months. 
    The company that owns the factory, Stella International 
Holdings Ltd  1836.HK , lists Guess? Inc  GES.N , Michael Kors 
Holding Ltd  KORS.N , Prada SpA  1913.HK  and Burberry Group PLC 
 BRBY.L  among its customers. 
    China's slowing economy, rising costs and the spread of 
social media have driven an increase in strikes. Last year, the 
number of strikes more than doubled to 1,378 from 656 the year 
before, according to China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based 
advocacy group. 
    The strike at Stella's Xing Ang factory in the city of 
Dongguan started on Sunday with workers unhappy about not 
receiving housing assistance, said Liu Zai, who added she had 
not received the funds in eight years at the factory. 
    "We want an explanation. Why haven't they paid this for so 
many years?" she said by telephone. 
    Liu and two activists said all of the factory's workers, 
about 5,000 people, were on strike. On Wednesday, most were 
forced to return to their workplace but were still refusing to 
work, Liu said. 
    A spokeswoman for Stella International said only "a few 
hundred" workers had gone on strike, not 5,000. 
    "Discussions are still ongoing, but as of this morning 
almost all workers have returned to work," the spokeswoman wrote 
in an email. She said she could not comment on production or 
customer orders because Stella International was under blackout 
ahead of its annual results announcement next week. 
    There was no immediate comment from Guess, Burberry or 
Prada. Calls to Michael Kors went unanswered. 
    The strike comes as China's parliament, the National 
People's Congress, holds its annual session in Beijing. Premier 
Li Keqiang told the congress last week the government would 
"improve the mechanisms for supervising the handling of labor 
issues and disputes, and ensure the law fully functions as the 
protector of the rights and interests of anyone in employment". 
    April last year saw China's biggest strike in decades, when 
about 40,000 employees of Adidas and Nike supplier Yue Yuen went 
on strike to demand social insurance payments. 
    In 2004, the Xing Ang factory and another run by Stella 
International in Dongguan saw thousands of workers strike over 
low wages, long hours and poor quality food, China Labour Watch 
reported. Several were arrested. 
  
 
 (Reporting by John Ruwitch and Alexandra Harney; Editing by 
Stephen Coates) 
 ((john.ruwitch@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 6104 1786; Reuters 
Messaging: john.ruwitch.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: CHINA STRIKE/