Protest by mainland Chinese factory workers to put damper on Hong Kong Disneyland's 10-year milestone
A planned protest threatens to dampen celebrations for Hong Kong Disneyland's 10th birthday, with a group of mainland factory workers set to demonstrate outside the park today in an effort to obtain severance and social security payments amounting to 9.5 million yuan (HK$11.52 million).
Three workers and supporters representing 196 employees of Tani Toys (Shenzhen) Company, which makes stuffed toys for Disney, were planning the protest for this morning in an effort to force the theme park operator to step in to help them obtain money they said the factory owes after it closed down in June.
"It's been three months we've been running around … We've tried to find the boss but he's long gone," said Wang Qiang, 31, who worked in the factory's material purchasing section.
A Disney spokesman said the firm was aware of the dispute, and had been "playing a mediator role". He said Disney took accusations of labour exploitation very seriously.
Tani Toys, set up in 1997, manufactured stuffed toys for Disney's Tokyo park. The workers, many of whom had been at the plant for over a decade, said that on June 18 they were gathered together at the factory and told the plant would "no longer continue its operations".
It's been three months we've been running around … We've tried to find the boss but he's long gone
The owner told workers they would need to sign an agreement - which they later found was a resignation document - by noon the next day if they wanted to be granted severance pay, the workers said.
Employees drafted a letter demanding negotiations with the owner but got no reply.
"Most of us then signed the agreement, worried that we'd end up with nothing," said Yang Zhongyou, 46, who had been with the factory more than 10 years. "But actually we were misled into signing it."
Severance pay was less than promised, and the factory did not hand over money from social security and insurance schemes employees had paid into, as required by law, the workers said.
A reply eventually sent to workers by Tani Toys said employees had been asked to voluntarily accept resignation compensation packages.
Out of the 196 employees, 77 had been with the factory for more than a decade.
"Those of us in our 40s can't find another job," said Qin Renfang, 43. "No one would take us."
