China: Spreading Labor Unrest

Chinese workers staged a brief strike June 15 at the Toyota Gosei plant in the northeastern city of Tianjin, the latest in a growing number of labor protests throughout China. The strikes are raising concerns in Beijing, but not because of the resulting wage increases, which are key to spurring domestic consumption as part of the country’s economic restructuring. The central government is more concerned about grassroots movements spreading out of control. As for the wage increases, the government just wants foreign-owned companies to foot the bill first, and it is happy to have a tool like the All China Federation of Trade Unions to exert this pressure.