Coca-Cola Co workers in three Chinese cities have gone on strike after the US soft drinks giant announced it was selling its bottling interests in the country.
Strikes and other labor protests have surged in recent years in China, where growth is slowing and parts of the economy are moribund.
The beverage giant last week announced it was selling all its bottling assets in China to Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Pacific Ltd and COFCO Corp (中國糧油), one of China’s state-owned food giants.
The Swire transaction would cost 5.87 billion yuan (US$848 million), the Hong Kong company said.
COFCO did not disclose the size of its deal.
Workers at three Coca-Cola plants called coordinated strikes on Monday, with photographs posted online appearing to show workers outside a factory in Chongqing with a banner that read: “We worked hard for over a decade but were sold in less than a second. Compensate! Compensate! Compensate!”
Another said: “Give back my youth, compensate my time.”
Simultaneous strikes also took place in Chengdu and in Jilin Province in the northeast, other photographs on social media showed.
One worker said that more than 600 staff went on strike in Chengdu.
Labor protests have erupted in China with economic growth slowing, and closing factories often leaving workers with unpaid wages and no redundancy pay.
According to data from Hong Kong-based rights group China Labour Bulletin, there were 2,774 strikes and labor protests across the country last year — more than the previous four years put together — with unpaid wages the most common grievance.
Independent trade unions are banned in China, with only the official All-China Federation of Trade Unions legally recognized, but critics say it often fails to assist workers in disputes.
Officials pay close attention to unrest that could upset social stability, which the Chinese Communist Party seeks to maintain.
The Coca-Cola bottling plant workers fear that they will lose their jobs or pay under the state-owned employer, one striking employee said.
“We are demanding the company disclose details of the refranchising and plans during the transitional period,” he said. “We request the company give workers economic compensation before they decide to sign the contract with COFCO.”
According to posts on social media, police clashed with strikers at the Chongqing factory, with video showing police pushing a cluster of workers in red uniforms and officers photographed subduing a struggling man.
Police officials in Chongqing said they had no information on such incidents when contacted by reporters.
Similar strikes broke out in 2011 when workers at five Pepsi Co’s bottling plants across China protested after the US beverage giant sold its plants in the country to a Taiwanese-Japanese venture.
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