Position and Analysis

Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Global Monitor and Workers Empowerment had issued a joint letter to the Hong Kong-based international apparel giant, Global Brands Group (GBG), regarding the shameless act of sudden closure of one of its main supplier factories in El Salvador, resulting in the arrears of  wages, severance and benefits of 824 garment workers.

Online take-away business has boomed in all major cities in China in recent years, forming a group of million “take-away bros” among the urban dwellers. Online take-away business has brought significant impact to urban life and the traditional catering industry. Urban citizens manage their meals with mobile phone apps, and restaurants are extending their production chain to serve orders placed online.

In the last one year, Chinese government has undergone a series of significant political operations, such as enshrining President Xi Jinping's political thought into the Party Constitution; constitutional amendment removing the presidential term limits, allowing him/her to remain in office indefinitely. At the same time, it tightened its control over the civil society, as an attempt to silence social conflicts. However, labour actions, in small or large-scale and somehow connected, take place all over China in 2018. In June and July, various social issues merged.

In the evening of 11 August 2018, Shen Mengyu, a representative from the student-worker-coalition which supports the Jasic workers was seized by a number of unknown assailants after dinner with her friends. All of a sudden, her name was spread all over the internet. However, her quest for justice to workers have started years ago, when she was still a student.