Workers flown home following African protest
Two people killed and four hurt after labour dispute turns violent
About 200 mainland workers returned home yesterday from Africa on a chartered flight after being involved in a violent protest against their Chinese employer that led to two deaths and four injuries in Equatorial Guinea.
The workers flew back on a China Southern Airlines flight that landed at Shanghai Pudong airport yesterday morning. They were whisked away by police before the press could question them. Another batch of 200 Chinese workers will fly back to Shanghai tomorrow.
The workers were employed by a mainland construction company for infrastructure projects in the central African country.
Mainland media said the workers had gone on strike recently and clashed with riot police. Two workers were killed and four injured.
It was not clear how the protest started. A mainland diplomat told The Beijing News that it was a 'labour dispute' and strikes were illegal in Equatorial Guinea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a formal protest with Equatorial Guinea and asked for an investigation into the incident. The government in Malabo has agreed.
A source said the strike was not an isolated case. Several protests by mainland workers in foreign countries, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, have broken out this year.
The source said the protests were mainly triggered by disputes over payment.
Most of these mainland workers were employed by Chinese construction companies that have overseas projects.
They were sent overseas on one- or two-year contracts.
The workers normally would be paid after they completed the project and returned to China.
'Most of them are paid in US dollars,' the source said.
'But unfortunately the value of the US dollar has dropped a lot over the past year. Some workers felt they had been short-changed and wanted to renegotiate their payment with the management.
'The workers are willing to go to Africa or the Middle East because they believe they can make more money.
'But situations have changed a lot in the past two years. Many of them felt bitter and disappointed.'
In another protest that took place in a Middle Eastern country in February, hundreds of workers were arrested.
The incident almost turned into a diplomatic crisis before Beijing intervened and promised to punish the workers' leaders.
'Most of these countries are in Africa and the Middle East. They seldom have large-scale protests, and their governments just don't know how to handle situations like this,' the source said, adding that the protests had become a headache for Beijing.
'Many of these building projects are partially funded by the central government. They are goodwill projects to showcase our friendship.
'This is quite embarrassing for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.'
The ministry in Beijing recently issued a notice asking Chinese citizens working overseas to 'respect local laws'.
'More and more Chinese citizens are now working overseas,' it said.
'Some of them are not accustomed to their work environment and the number of labour disputes is rising.
'Some have resorted to irrational method to solve their problems.
'We urge all Chinese workers to respect local laws and regulations.'
