In late May, labor strikes and protests have erupted in various industries such as express delivery, manufacturing, real estate, and homestay businesses across China. These actions reflect escalating labor disputes and societal dissatisfaction under the pressure of economic downturn. One of the focal points has been the ongoing strike at the Yun Da Express Distribution Center in Chengdu, Sichuan.
On May 30, hundreds of employees at the Yun Da Express Distribution Center in Shuangliu District, Chengdu, went on strike to protest the company’s decision to relocate the distribution center to Lezhi County in Ziyang, a hundred kilometers away, without providing compensation. The employees blocked the entrance and exit of roads, halting the movement of vehicles. As of June 2, the police intervened and conducted dispersal operations, during which some employees were reportedly assaulted.
A female employee participating in the strike informed a reporter that the company refused to compensate employees based on the standard of “one month’s salary compensation for each year of work,” and negotiations between workers’ representatives and the company have not yielded any response from the company.
When the reporter called the distribution center, the staff declined to comment and only mentioned that negotiations were still ongoing.
According to videos and information shared by employees on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, the new factory area is over a hundred kilometers away from the city, with rudimentary facilities. Drivers have to wait for extended periods for goods, leading to increased costs and causing many employees to resign. Workers criticized the company for failing to pay relocation compensation in accordance with the Labor Contract Law and not providing proper resettlement.
Simultaneously, in Dongguan, Guangdong, employees of Li Guo Lighting Co., Ltd. collectively stopped work out of concerns that the company leadership might “flee” during a sudden announcement of a 15-day holiday without compensation. Despite multiple attempts to reach the company by phone, there was no answer, and rumors circulated about the owner being unreachable.
In Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, employees of Puxing Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. continued their strike for wage payments. Some workers reported that salaries in the thick plate department had not been disbursed, plunging them into financial difficulties. Another worker disclosed that the recent sale of the company to China Qingshan Group had exacerbated management chaos and instability.
On May 31, hundreds of homeowners at the Wade Luxurious City in Qingdao, Shandong, blocked National Highway 204 due to project delays and stormed the construction site, resulting in forceful police eviction. Videos showed multiple protesters being removed from the scene, with some women breaking down in tears on the spot. Homeowners claimed that the project had been suspended for an extended period, with neither the government nor the developer addressing the handover issues.
In Xianyang, Shaanxi, owners of the Rongchuang Shine Time Reading Project collectively protested the halt of construction at the petition center, accusing the government of misappropriating funds. Several individuals were taken away by the police on-site.
In Li Guangzhen, Wafangdian City, Dalian, approximately a hundred homestay operators protested against the government forcefully demolishing their “capsule” homestays. In a video, a man expressed, “We responded to the government’s investment attraction calls, but now we are being driven out of our homes.”
Regarding the series of collective events, independent labor relations researcher Yue Ming (pseudonym) stated in an interview that recent waves of rights protection incidents involving express delivery, manufacturing, foreign-funded enterprises, and the real estate sector indicated that companies ignored the law to reduce costs. Additionally, a lack of supervision from local governments led to the sacrifice of labor rights.
“When companies face operational difficulties, they should protect their employees’ rights in accordance with the law. However, local authorities often side with the companies, suppressing rights defenders instead,” he said. “This doesn’t stabilize society but turns it into a pressure cooker ready to explode.”
The reporter found numerous related videos on platforms like Douyin and WeChat video accounts, but many had been deleted or restricted. Overseas social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) accounts “Yesterday” kept posting updates on worker protests and homeowners’ rights protection scenes nationwide.
Mr. Li, a rights advocate from Linyi, Shandong, said that many companies are now “half-dead”: “My wife works in a listed company that was sold last year. Now, they only work every other day. My son polishes at a chip factory in Anhui, working long hours with poor treatment, just barely making ends meet.”
Mr. Liu, a resident of Taixing, Jiangsu, mentioned, “Now, factory closures and wage arrears are common, and neither the government nor the union intervenes.”
Since 2008, the Chinese Communist Party has classified data on collective incidents as “state secrets” and no longer discloses them. However, this year, a significant volume of rights protection videos has emerged online, mainly involving wage arrears and forced demolitions. Liu Hong, a civilian organization leader in Beijing, expressed that ongoing labor disputes and government repression of rights protection without holding illegal enterprises accountable are not about stability but rather about pushing people to react. “Instead of maintaining stability, it’s like a pressure cooker about to explode,” he emphasized.
Up to the time of final submission, the reporter attempted multiple times to contact the involved companies and relevant local governments but did not receive any responses.