On April 7 and 8, thousands of workers employed at the Huayun Machinery Factory and the Changsha Heavy Machinery Factory, both in Hunan Province, had a sit-in protest inside the facilities. Workers demanded that their employers follow state policies and resolve their welfare issues such as wage compensation and placement fees. The protest went peacefully.
At 7:30 a.m. on April 7, workers of the Changsha Heavy Machinery Factory started a sit-in protest in the factory. At 9:30 a.m., workers of the Huayun Machinery Factory did the same. A banner hanging at the front door of the Huayun Factory said “We strongly demand that provincial or municipal commissioners send a team to investigate corruption in the factory,” “Workers protecting their legal rights.”
A worker from the Huayun factory, who wishes to remain anonymous said, “Everyone out there did it out of his/her own will. About 1,000 people from our factory and 2,000 people from the Changsha factory participated. This protest involves everyone’s rights. We all went. The workers sat there from 8 a.m. until the time they usually get off work.”
