Bullet Points - January 2024

It would have been wise to get out of the trap years ago.

Workers have begun calling platform work “a trap” because of the unfavourable working conditions, inability to earn a reasonable income, and need to invest their own money in vehicles, insurance, petrol, platform fees and other costs. 

After the platform freight company Huolala (Lalamove) adjusted its pricing model to make drivers compete for orders at lower and lower costs, Huolala workers in four cities protested in October and November against this change. 

One driver posted an image of himself ripping the branded decals off his van in early December 2023, accompanied by a written announcement that he was quitting the platform: 

From working for Didi ride-hailing to now Huolala, I've wasted a full six years of my life. Nothing has changed; I'm still struggling.

China’s Ministry of Transport responded to this series of strikes and two previous strikes by urging platform companies to change their practices. But workers need additional leverage, like union representation at the industry level, to see real change. 

Strikes drop in December. CLB’s Strike Map collected 162 workers strikes and protests in December 2023, down from the annual high of 241 in November. Although the total number of incidents was lower, the proportion of incidents among industries remained generally the same. The construction industry accounted for about half the incidents, followed by manufacturing, services, and transportation.

Food delivery riders gather to mourn colleague’s murder. In response to the shocking incident on 5 December of a food delivery rider being stabbed to death by private security while delivering food to a residence in Qingdao, Shandong province, dozens of riders gathered at the scene on 9 December to raise their voices in protest. Police arrived shortly thereafter and broke up the peaceful demonstration. The stabbing incident allegedly occurred after a dispute between a Meituan delivery rider and the security of a residential community block, over rules forcing riders to enter on foot rather than on their vehicles. Riders, as a result, get fined for late deliveries. But security guards can also be fined for not enforcing community rules. After the incident, Meituan said it would follow up and provide compensation to the rider’s family. 

Medical workers threaten to jump from hospital building. On 26 November, medical staff at the Suining Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Sichuan province threatened to jump from the hospital building in protest over labour rights issues (see image, above). Online comments and anonymous sources quoted by RFA indicated that the cause was wage arrears, while a statement from the local health department denied so and said that the cause was dissatisfaction over management issues. China's second- and third-tier public hospitals and many private hospitals have seen their revenues drop since the pandemic and are under strain. CLB’s Strike Map collected 15 incidents of medical workers protesting in 2023, 13 of which were over wage arrears.

CLB’s researcher was quoted in Nikkei Asia on what the censorship of a short documentary film about the plight of migrant workers signifies more broadly: 

"The video demonstrates that the economic situation is not reviving for now," said Aidan Chau, researcher at Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, a nonprofit organization advocating for blue-collar workers. "We have documented a lot of manufacturing protests in China last year, [on top of] construction worker protests."

Chinese officials "overreacted" after this short documentary received a lot of attention online, Chau said, even though the video is "not particularly negative."

The Nikkei Asia news article describes the 12-minute film published by Wangyi News (163.com) as being “about struggling Chinese migrant workers in Hefei province,” and “[it] offers a rare glimpse into the lives of aging migrant workers struggling to secure a day's wages.”