2nd in a China Series

“Striking to Survive,” by Fan Shigang, 2019

This book is an explanation and oral history of two recent strikes in the Pearl River Delta around the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, the center of Chinese factory production.  The two strikes are based on attempts by management to relocate to an inner, cheaper part of China.  The workers are not afraid to take militant action to try to get some severance from the capitalists who run these plants.  Neither factory is in the public sector.

The book reflects the many strikes and labor disputes occurring in this region in 2013-2015 and is a sequel to an earlier book covering a prior period (“China on Strike” - reviewed below).  The capitalists know they can pay lower wages if they move, as the workers in the Delta have gained some material advances over the years.

FURNITURE FACTORY

The first factory is owned by a firm in Hong Kong and makes furniture for outfits like Wal-Mart.  The 400 or so workers in this plant go on strike for 2 weeks and are eventually defeated in their demands.  Chief among them is getting 1600-2000 yuan per year severance for the years they worked in the plant, but they also concern unpaid heat bonuses and unpaid pensions.  Instead the bosses offer a maximum of 500 yuan per year, while their other demands are ignored. (500Y is about $56.)

The strike is first led by some of the longer-serving senior staff called foreman, who are really lead workers.  These form a group of delegates, as the government demanded delegates be selected. Then active workers from the plant get engaged, especially a Mr. Yu, along with some aggressive older women workers.  Mr. Yu runs a micro-blog, hands out leaflets and studies Chinese labor law.  He becomes one of their chief spokespeople.  He is eventually detained for 1.5 years while other ‘ring-leaders’ are detained for a few weeks.

The strike starts when the workers block a truck taking equipment to the new factory and hold it under guard.  They occupy the plant and shut down all production, blocking shipments.  They at times seize and hold individual police, company lawyers, government representatives and even the boss for short periods, which shows how tough they could be.  Local governmental bodies pretend to sympathize, but side with the factory owner. The local All China Confederation of Trade Unions plays no role. Private thugs appear.  The riot police are called out several times on the workers as they demonstrate at the local government office or block roads, leading to arrests and some beatings.  In these confrontations, the women workers are in the front line to protect the men. The workers make one strategic concession in order to ‘bargain in the good faith’ but get no concrete gain for it, and loose their leverage. 

Confrontations abound

Chinese Government

Of most import is the role of different government bodies, which use various tactics to undermine the strike.  The tactics are not quite as bloody-minded as many governments in the global South however.  This is significant and shows that Chinese labor is stronger. I think this is a partial reflection of the class character of the Chinese state, though the authors consider China capitalist through and through.  Some defenders of China think that the economy is an example of an ‘NEP on steroids.’  However the original NEP encouraged low-level domestic capitalism and market forces, but it did not invite European capital into Russia to set up factories - among other openings to overseas capital.  So this is something new. The long jailing of Mr. Wu certainly shows that the government understands the benefits of punishing real labor leaders, reflecting a bureaucratic and pro-capitalist view.  This must be what ‘Socialism with a Chinese characteristics’ really means.

The way the strike developed reflects the spontaneous and unorganized nature of labor protest in the Delta, which is sometimes sophisticated but at other times naive.  Delegates fear being identified and claim they are only transmitting information about negotiations, so there is little leadership. Plans are ad hoc and short term and the workers think the strike will be short.  The workers are hungry and get tired from the conflict.  There is a certain level of trust in the statements from the government and the capitalist owner, which boomerangs against the workers.  They expect help from government bodies and get none.

I will let you read about the other strike when you buy the book.  Suffice it to say that it consisted of two sequential strikes, both ending when police flooded into the occupied factory.  Both strikes were spurred by an activist minority and had appeals to various levels of government which were ignored.  Tactics to divide the workforce were common.  Essentially this book shows in factory relocations in the Delta, the workers are waste to be thrown out in order to protect the profits of offshore capitalists.

 Other reviews on Chinese labor and politics below, use blog search box upper left:  “China on Strike” (first in this series); “Two Sea Changes in World Political Economy,” “Is the East Still Red?” “From Commune to Capitalism,” “The End of the Revolution,” “Jasic Factory Struggle,” “The Rise of China,” “The Implosion of Contemporary Capitalism”(Amin); “Southern Insurgency.”

And I bought it at May Day Books!

Red Frog

December 3, 2019