Hundreds strike in latest China labour protest

SHANGHAI: Hundreds of workers protested for a fifth straight day on Thursday at a Japanese plant in southern China, a company official said, in the latest labour unrest in the country's manufacturing hub.

Nearly 1,000 workers have downed tools since Sunday at disk drive maker Hailiang Storage Products Co, blocking the entrance and accusing bosses of "bullying" Chinese workers, state media and a rights group said.

The factory in the southern city of Shenzhen is operated by Japan's Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, which is in the process of being taken over by US firm Western Digital.

Workers, who fear the acquisition will result in lower wages, hoisted banners saying "We also know our rights" and "Japanese companies shamelessly bully Chinese workers", said US-based China Labor Watch.

The company official, who declined to be named, told that talks to resolve the strike were continuing.

Since November, thousands of workers in factories in southern China and elsewhere have gone on strike, protesting over low salaries, wage cuts and poor conditions as companies cut back amid the global economic slowdown.

Labour activists say authorities in China appear to be more sympathetic to grievances against factories funded by foreign companies or overseas Chinese investors from Hong Kong and Taiwan than domestically-owned plants.