East Asia

Libcom.org Dec 13 2008

Wildcat strikers at a South Korean owned firm returned to work yesterday 11 December gaining promises of improved working conditions.

Thanhniennews.com reported that on Thursday last week, around 1,300 workers gathered in front of Doosan Vina Company office in the Dung Quat Economic Zone in the central Quang Ngai Province to demand proper treatment and payment of allowances.  read more »

Libcom.org Dec. 5, 2008

The wildcat strike of more than 200 workers from a company in the central Quang Ngai Province escalated on Thursday.

Since Thursday morning, around 1,300 South Korean-owned Doosan Vina Company employees, gathered in front of the company office in the Dung Quat Economic Zone to emphasize their demand for proper payment of allowances.

Workers first walked off the job on Monday, saying Doosan Vina had not honored its promise to pay a range of allowances and hand out pay rises to employees once they’d completed four months of service.  read more »

Dec. 2, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)– Thailand's prime minister was ousted Tuesday after weeks of protests closed the capital's airports, stranding 300,000 travelers. Protesters promised to lift their siege, and international flights were expected to resume Friday.  read more »

Nov. 16, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)– In a devastating week for Myanmar's democracy movement, dozens of its members have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, as the military-ruled government locks away writers and Buddhist monks — as well as musicians, a poet and at least one journalist.  read more »

Libcom.org Nov. 6, 2008

Thousands of taxi drivers took to the streets in the city of Chongqing earlier this week for improved conditions.

The strike, which began on Monday, saw 9,000 of Chongqing's taxis taken out of service as drivers protested over conditions; including high fees charged by their companies, unfair
competition from unlicensed cabs, and a shortage of fuel.  read more »

The Associated Press September 28, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar: About 100 Buddhist monks in a western Myanmar city staged a peaceful protest march to mark the anniversary of the bloody crackdown last year on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Meanwhile, in the country's biggest city, Yangon, recently released political prisoners helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the party led by the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The police and other security personnel kept a close watch Saturday on the headquarters of the party, the National League for Democracy.  read more »

Sept. 23, 2008 International Metalworkers Federation

Following a wave of strikes, the South Korean government has unleashed a massive attack against the Korean Metal Workers' Union targeting more than 75 of the union's key leaders for arrest or investigation.  read more »

September 14th, 2008 Libcom

Some 2,000 workers at two foreign-owned companies have gone on strike, demanding better pay and allowances, company and union officials said Friday.

More than 1,400 workers at Valley View Vietnam, a Taiwanese-owned garment company based in the central city of Danang, have been on strike since Thursday, demanding a monthly petrol allowance of 100,000 dong (6 dollars) and an increase in their daily meal allowance.  read more »

By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Aug 26, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thousands of anti-government demonstrators pushed into the Thai prime minister's office compound on Tuesday and tens of thousands rallied outside in the latest protest aimed at deposing a prime minister they accuse of close ties to his disgraced predecessor.  read more »

July 18, 2008

BEIJING - More than a hundred Chinese villagers attacked a police station to protest the death of a man they say was beaten by local Communist Party security guards, police said Friday, the latest in a recent spate of violence triggered by discontent with authorities.

Relatives gathered Thursday after Ouyang Jiusheng, 40, died in a motorcycle accident near Shangnan village in the southern province of Guangdong, according to a police statement sent via e-mail.  read more »