CHINESE LABOUR:
URGENT ACTION NEEDED: TELL CHINESE OFFICIALS TO RELEASE INNOCENT WORKERS:
The following is an appeal from the Netherlands-based Clean Clothes Campaign which works for the rights of workers employed in the garment trade worldwide. It concerns people arrested during a recent labour demonstration in Guangzhou City, China, and it calls for their immediate release and help for the just demands of the workers concerned. Read the following, and join the campaign....
URGENT ACTION NEEDED
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Tell Chinese Officials: Release Innocent Workers, Bring Corrupt Owner to Justice
On February 13, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, some 700 workersat the Panyu Li Chang Footwear Co. Ltd in Panyu district of Guangzhou City returned from their New Year holiday. They were expecting to receive their back wages ? estimated to be around 2,000 Yuan per worker ? and resume work. Instead, they found that the owner had stolen their wages,closed the factory and sold all the equipment. The gates to the factory and their living quarters were locked. Dozens of long-term workers discovered that the owner had not paid their social insurance and other entitlements for around ten years. Others found that payments had not been made for the last nine months despite being deducted from their monthly wages.
In an attempt to seek justice, approximately 400 workers peacefully walked from the factory to the Guangzhou Municipal government offices. The police stopped the workers and detained about 50 of them. Five were formally arrested and detained on criminal charges for illegal assembly and demonstration.
Please take action today to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the five workers who spontaneously and peacefully walked with their fellow workers to report the factory owner's crime and call on the authorities for help.
According to the report in the Panyu Daily, on February 28 the five workers were forced to stand on a podium while their arrests were publicly announced. Jian Xi Bo, the district standing committee and secretary of the politics and law committee, was reported to have said that workers who use road or bridge blockades to express their discontent will not be protected by law. The walk to the government offices, however, was both spontaneous and peaceful. The workers should not be penalized for blocking traffic since this was the inevitable consequence of the fact that so many workers were robbed and evicted by the factory owner in one day.
It is time for China to stop its systematic repression of internationally recognized human rights, particularly freedom of expression and freedom of association. The ability of workers to engage in dialogue with employers and openly express their grievances is a fundamental part of a just society.
Go to http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/08-03-17.htm#action or use this sample letter:
Guangzhou Municipal Government
1 Fu Qian Road Guangzhou City,
PRC 510032
Fax: 00-86-20-83123518
Email: web@gzgo.gov.cn
President Hu Jintao
Zhongnanhai, Xichengqu, Beijing City, PRC, 100017
Fax: 0086-10-64729863
Email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn
Dear Mayor Zhang Guangning and President Hu Jintao,
On February 13, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, some 700 workers at the Panyu Li Chang Footwear Co. Ltd in Panyu district of Guangzhou City returned from their holiday. They expected to go back to work and to receive their back wages ? estimated to be around 2,000 Yuan per worker. Instead, they found that the owner had stolen their wages, closed the factory and sold all the equipment. The gates to the factory and their living quarters were locked. Dozens of long-term workers discovered that the owner had not paid their social insurance and other entitlements foraround ten years. Others found that payments had not been made for the last nine months, despite being deducted from their monthly wages.
In an attempt to seek justice, approximately 400 workers peacefully walked from the factory to the Guangzhou Municipal government offices. The police stopped the workers and detained about 50 of them. Five were formally arrested and detained on criminal charges for illegal assembly and demonstration. According to the report in the Panyu Daily, on February 28 the five workers were forced to stand on a podium while their arrests were publicly announced. Jian Xi Bo, the district standing committee and secretary of the politics and law committee, was reported to have said that workers who use road or bridge blockades to express their discontent will not be protected by law. The walk to the government offices, however, was both spontaneous and peaceful. The workers should not be penalized for blocking traffic, since this was the inevitable consequence of the fact that so many workers were robbed and evicted by the factory owner in one day.
I am writing today to request that you:
1. drop the criminal charges against the five workers and release them immediately and unconditionally;
2. ensure that all workers get their full wages, severance pay, and social insurance and pension premiums;
3. respect workers' right to freedom of expression and association;
4. bring the owner of Panyu Li Chang Footwear Co. Ltd to justice.
The ability of workers to engage in dialogue with employers and openly express their grievances is a fundamental part of a just society. The workers at the Panyu Li Chang factory are victims of a horrible crime.They must not be judged criminals for seeking to inform authorities about the owner?s misdeed and requesting help.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
cc: Guangzhou Municipal ACFTU and Guangdong Provincial ACFTUchairman@gzgh.org.cn
5, Donyuanheng Road, Yuexiu Nan, Guangzhou City, PRC, 510000
cc: Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Guangzhou Citygzjy@mail.gzlabour.gov.cn
-- Clean Clothes Campaign
PO Box 115841001 GN Amsterdam
phone: ++ 31 (0)20-4122785
postbank: 3927802 / IBAN: NL 35 PSTB 0003927802
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