This week hundreds of workers at the Port of Hong Kong agreed to end their 40 day strike after winning a 9.8% wage rise, as well as promises of further negotiations on working conditions and an assurance of no retaliation against striking workers. While successful, the workers did not achieve all of their demands. Workers became worried when they learned that the company was training up a strike-breaking workforce as well as the fact that shipping companies had started to use the nearby port of Shenzhen to undermine the impact of their strike. These issues again point to the importance of workers globalising their struggle and taking co-ordinated international action against companies.
This week hundreds of workers at the Port of Hong Kong agreed to end their 40 day strike after winning a 9.8% wage rise, as well as promises of further negotiations on working conditions and an assurance of no retaliation against striking workers. While successful, the workers did not achieve all of their demands. Workers became worried when they learned that the company was training up a strike-breaking workforce as well as the fact that shipping companies had started to use the nearby port of Shenzhen to undermine the impact of their strike. These issues again point to the importance of workers globalising their struggle and taking co-ordinated international action against companies.
