On May 30, hundreds of employees at the Yunda Express sorting center in Chengdu, Sichuan, went on a collective strike to protest Yunda’s relocation without compensation. During this period, striking workers blocked the sorting center’s main gate to prevent vehicles from entering or leaving. In the early hours of May 31, employees protesting at the gate were forcibly dispersed by the police. According to workers, some employees were beaten by the police. Insiders revealed that the Yunda Chengdu sorting center will be relocated to Lezhi County, Ziyang City, Sichuan, on the 6th of next month. On June 2, the workers were still persisting in their strike struggle.
According to online reports, the direct cause of the strike is suspected to be the relocation of the sorting center about 100 kilometers away, with employees having to solve their own commuting problems at the new location. If they resign voluntarily, compensation issues have not been settled. Video footage shows that small cars, vans (marked as riot police), and buses are parked at the company gate, with police officers waiting for deployment.
Below are recent mass movements and brief news from Sichuan in the past two months (possibly incomplete):
April 7, Guanghan City, Deyang, Sichuan: Many owners of the well-known unfinished building project “Tianfu Grand Market” once again launched a rights protection action demanding a refund of their home purchase payments but returned empty-handed. About 200 owners held a march and demonstration in Guanghan city, shouting slogans such as “Return my hard-earned money” and “Refund the purchase payment.” As usual, this rights protection action was suppressed by the police, with at least one owner taken away.;
May 6, Junlian County, Yibin, Sichuan: Hundreds of passenger tricycle drivers gathered near Yuhu Park in Junlian County to protest the county government’s ban on passenger tricycles continuing operation;
May 19, Gulin County, Sichuan: A villager, due to forced land requisition by the government and having no way to seek justice, ultimately committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. Ironically, the slogan on the bridge read: “Freedom, Equality, Justice, Rule of Law.” The villager said, “Compensation for over 40,000 yuan for the land, but only 10,000 yuan received. If you disagree, they forcibly excavate the land; if you obstruct construction, you are sent to prison. Reporting to the street office results in verbal insults. Are you bandits or Communist Party members serving the people?”;
May 25, Chengdu, Sichuan: A female worker filmed a video stating that BYD in Chongzhou forcibly dismissed employees aged 50 and above without any compensation. At the same time, BYD also revoked the relevant employees’ access rights, prohibiting them from entering the factory area.