Caught On Tape: “Enormous Crowds” Of Unemployed Chinese Miners Take To The Streets, Clash With Riot Police
In early November, we said that far from the traditional risk factors affecting China’s economy, including the slowing economy, the stock market (and now housing 2.0) bubble, the soaring NPLs, and record debt, the most under-reported risk facing China is the “breakdown in recent “agreeable” labor conditions, wage cuts and rising unemployment, leading to labor strikes and in some cases, violence.”
Some recent articles probing the severity of China’s collapsing labor market were the following:
- The “Hard-Landing” Has Arrived: Chinese Coal Company Fires 100,000
- Thousands Of Angry Unpaid Chinese Workers Protest Shocking Bankruptcy Of Major Telecom Supplier.
- 600 Hungry, Angry Chinese Workers “Sleep On The Street” After CEO Disappears With Their Wages
A clear indication of this was the exponential rise in labor strikes on the mainland as tracked by the China Labor Bulletin:
While so far most Chinese worker strikes had been largely peaceful, two weeks ago we said it was only a matter of time before these turned violent after Reuters reported that “China aims to lay off 5-6 million state workers over the next two to three years as part of efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and pollution.”
All this changed overnight when as AFP reports, thousands of miners in China’s coal-rich (or poor depending on one’s perspective) north have gone on strike over months of unpaid wages and fears that government calls to restructure their state-owned employer will lead to mass layoffs.
Citing the video shown below, AFP reported that thousands of protesters were marching through the streets of Shuangyashan city in Heilongjiang province, venting their frustration at Longmay Mining Holding Group, the biggest coal firm in northeast China. Pictures showed enormous crowds filling the streets.
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