Over 1,000 Chinese workers have gone on strike at an IBM factory in China, close to the border with Hong Kong, citing objections over the changes in their contracts ahead of a takeover of the facility by Lenovo. The takeover is part of a $2.3bn deal where Lenovo will assume IBM’s x86 computer server business, including the International Systems Technology Company (ISTC) subsidiary in question. The strike is only the latest in a series of actions in which workers challenge takeovers.
The New York Times has reported that a video was posted in a Chinese social media platform in which hundreds of workers dressed in their factory uniforms protested in front of the IBM x86 facility. With them, they carried banners with messages including ‘Workers are not a commodity’ and ‘Give us back our respect’. The strike is likely a result of fears of mass layoffs taking place after the takeover, though the deal is still pending regulatory approval.
The strike is only the latest in a series of actions in which workers
challenge takeovers
Protests are said to have began on Monday, and production remains suspended in the facilities. According to one protesters, speaking to the Financial Times, the workers are acting independently of the government approved All China Federation of Trade Unions. “The [official] union has never done anything to help protect our rights,” the FT quotes the worker as saying. “We don’t trust it or the [government] labour bureau.”
“Employees currently involved in x86 operations in Shenzhen have a personal choice of remaining with ISTC under terms and conditions comparable in aggregate to what they currently are receiving, or they can voluntarily choose what we believe is an equitable severance package and resign from ISTC,” IBM said in a statement. Employees are demanding higher payments for workers who decide to remain with Lenovo and for those who leave.
Over the past few years a number of such strike actions have popped up around China, as workers demand higher wages and better working conditions. In two separate strike action cases in Guangdong province, tens of workers were prosecuted for ‘public order’ offences.
