Dear Friends,
AMRC would like to extend its warm greetings to all workers and activist on this May Day.
We hope the working class of Asia will continue to keep its sprits high in these turbulent and difficult times. Not only has the ‘Iron Rice Bowl’ smashed a long time ago but even the rice – that is so much dear to all Asian workers has become so expensive due to high inflation. The cost of living has far exceeded the meagre increase in wages (if any) across Asia. Workers have to spend more than the previous year on food, shelter and clothing and economic situation become workers has become much worse.
Migrant workers have been affected badly. Workers who have been migrating in millions to Jakarta, Mumbai, Dhaka Beijing or Guangzhou to escape from the rural poverty and bring some earnings to their families have found it hard to save to send home. Employment for them not only fails to secure a successful escape from poverty, it may actually contribute to existing vulnerabilities that include exposure to hazards at workplace.
A majority of workers in Asia end up working in the huge informal sector which is beyond the purview of national labour laws thus again, ironically, proving that labour laws protect only a small percentage of workers those working in formal sector and even rights of these workers are constantly under attack spearheaded by the highly mobile and unregulated global capital. Though this has affected all workers, women are at a more disadvantageous position compared to men as they face limited choices in paid work and jobs they do get are often low-paying.
Organising attempts have also met with brutal force and violence both by authorities as well as company goons all over Asia. In the Philippines, trade union leaders and activist continued to be killed – 87 total so far since 2001 when the Arroyo regime began – by armed militia and in spite of the heavy international condemnation, the spate of ruthless killings and violence has continued unabated. Organising attempts by Mr Huang Qingnan, a labour activist in south China, were met with violence when he was knifed badly by some goons and left bleeding on the road in November 2007.
In spite of the economic and repressive hardships, workers have been organising with vigour and zeal and new broader alliances are being built with other social movements. In India it has been found that, contrary to all speculations, trade union membership is on the increase. Informal sector workers are using new forms of organising and linking with movements of landless peasants, the women’s movement and the broader environmental movement. In China what is officially known as ‘labour unrest’ has been widespread in Industrial Zones in the Pearl River Delta and workers have been protesting for better working conditions and against lay-offs. In Vietnam about 18,000 workers went on strike in a factory supplying to Nike. Workers have also gone for spontaneous strikes in many other factories in Southern Vietnam. Cambodia has also seen numerous strikes in the past year for better working conditions and proper wages. Hong Kong witnessed a historical moment when the ‘bar-benders’ from the construction industry went on strike – for the first time in over 30 years – demanding an increase in wages and an 8-hour working day. The strike ended after 36 days with higher wages and regulated work hours for them.
We express our solidarity with all the struggles and salute the undaunted spirit of the working class in Asia. National boundaries may divide us but urge to organise against the global capital will keep us united. Long live the International Solidarity.