IBM strike a sign of labour changes in China
by John Ruwitch,
2014-03-10 05:54:08.0
SHANGHAI — A wildcat strike at an IBM factory in southern China illustrates how tectonic shifts in the country’s labour market are emboldening workers to take matters into their own hands, raising risks for multinationals.
More than 1,000 workers walked off the job last week at the factory in Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong, after managers announced the terms of their transfer to new ownership under Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Group.
Lenovo agreed to pay $2.3bn for IBM’s low-end server business in January this year.
The strike, which continued on Sunday, fits a growing pattern of industrial activism that has emerged as China’s economy has slowed.
A worsening labour shortage has shifted the balance of power in labour relations, while smartphones and social media have helped workers organise and made them more aware than ever of the changing environment, experts said.
"Chinese workers, after being exploited for so long, are now more and more aware of their rights, and united. They have more of an idea of collective action," said labour lawyer Duan Yi.
A report by the advocacy group China Labour Bulletin last month said it had noted 1,171 strikes and protests from the beginning of June 2011 to the end of December 2013.
Many worker protests during that time in Guangdong province, a manufacturing hub where the IBM server factory is situated, were sparked by the closure, merger or relocation of factories.
In November, hundreds of employees stopped work at a Nokia factory in Dongguan, near Shenzhen, complaining of changes following Nokia’s sale of its mobile phone business to US software giant Microsoft Corporation.
Mr Duan is seeking arbitration for a group of 70 Nokia workers who were laid off at the time.
Last August, 5,000 workers in eastern Shandong province went on strike to protest Apollo Tyres’ proposed $2.5bn acquisition of US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. The deal was eventually scuttled and Cooper reported this month that the work stoppage in China had cut operating profit by $29m in the third quarter.
The labour shortage has pushed up wages, and forced employers to cast a wide net to find employees and enhance benefits to retain staff.
"Workers know they have greater power," said China Labour Bulletin labour expert Geoffrey Crothall.
IBM said last week that the terms offered to the workers at the International System Technology Company factory in Shenzhen were "comparable in aggregate to what they currently are receiving" and severance packages would be "equitable".
Lenovo has declined to comment.
Reuters
IBM's multinational headquarters in Madrid. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/CRISTINA ARIAS
SHANGHAI — A wildcat strike at an IBM factory in southern China illustrates how tectonic shifts in the country’s labour market are emboldening workers to take matters into their own hands, raising risks for multinationals.
More than 1,000 workers walked off the job last week at the factory in Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong, after managers announced the terms of their transfer to new ownership under Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Group.
Lenovo agreed to pay $2.3bn for IBM’s low-end server business in January this year.
The strike, which continued on Sunday, fits a growing pattern of industrial activism that has emerged as China’s economy has slowed.
A worsening labour shortage has shifted the balance of power in labour relations, while smartphones and social media have helped workers organise and made them more aware than ever of the changing environment, experts said.
"Chinese workers, after being exploited for so long, are now more and more aware of their rights, and united. They have more of an idea of collective action," said labour lawyer Duan Yi.
A report by the advocacy group China Labour Bulletin last month said it had noted 1,171 strikes and protests from the beginning of June 2011 to the end of December 2013.
Many worker protests during that time in Guangdong province, a manufacturing hub where the IBM server factory is situated, were sparked by the closure, merger or relocation of factories.
In November, hundreds of employees stopped work at a Nokia factory in Dongguan, near Shenzhen, complaining of changes following Nokia’s sale of its mobile phone business to US software giant Microsoft Corporation.
Mr Duan is seeking arbitration for a group of 70 Nokia workers who were laid off at the time.
Last August, 5,000 workers in eastern Shandong province went on strike to protest Apollo Tyres’ proposed $2.5bn acquisition of US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. The deal was eventually scuttled and Cooper reported this month that the work stoppage in China had cut operating profit by $29m in the third quarter.
The labour shortage has pushed up wages, and forced employers to cast a wide net to find employees and enhance benefits to retain staff.
"Workers know they have greater power," said China Labour Bulletin labour expert Geoffrey Crothall.
IBM said last week that the terms offered to the workers at the International System Technology Company factory in Shenzhen were "comparable in aggregate to what they currently are receiving" and severance packages would be "equitable".
Lenovo has declined to comment.
Reuters
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