Workers

ITUC Protest Letter to President Hu Jintao regarding Li Guohong who was sent to "re-education through labour" camp

President Hu Jintao
Zhongnanhai, Xichengqu,
Beijing
People's Republic of China

By fax: +86.10.647.298.63 or:
By email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn
HTUR/FW

6 December 2007

Dear Mr. President,

Labour activist sent to "re-education through labour" camp

On behalf of the International Trade Union Confederation, which represents 168 million unionised workers through its 305 national affiliated union centers in 153 countries and territories, including China’s Hong Kong SAR, I am writing to express our strong condemnation of the one and a half year's Re-education through Labor (RTL) camp sentence for Li Guohong, a laid-off workers' representative at Zhongyuan Oil Field (ZOF), issued by the Zhongyuan Oil Field Public Security Bureau (PSB).

According to our information, some 10,000 workers have been dismissed without proper compensation by the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), which owns ZOF, since 2001. Since last year, representatives of the dismissed workers have petitioned higher authorities and, as a result, have allegedly suffered beatings and detention. Li Guohong is one of those representatives.
The ITUC was informed that on 31 October 2007, Li Guohong went to Puyang City, Henan Province, where ZOF holds its headquarters, to learn about a lawsuit from the dismissed workers against ZOF. While there, Li Guohong went to the Zhongyuan Oil Field PSB to learn more about earlier detentions of ZOF workers. There, he was promptly administratively detained for fifteen days. After that, he was due to be released on 16 November 2007, but instead, the authorities sent him to RTL.

As you might know, on 26 November 2007, the ITUC wrote to the Mayor of Shenzhen, regarding a case of a labour activist who was stabbed because he also stood up for the rights of dismissed workers. As you may also know, we wrote to the Chinese central authorities on 25 May 2007 about the new Labour Contract law, which will enter into force on 1 January 2008. While we remain concerned that core issues such as freedom of association have not been addressed in the new law, we regard many of the provisions in the law to be an improvement on previous legislation. It is for this reason that we have been monitoring the situation over the past few months with concern. As you will no doubt be aware, there have been increasing reports of mass lay offs of workers by companies in an apparent attempt to shed longstanding workers before the new provisions - which protect their employment status with their companies - come into force.

A case in point is the ongoing protest by more than 700 workers of the Shixin Electronics Company in Tangxia town (Dongguan, Guangdong province), who took to the streets on 22 November 2007 over their severance package, and demanded to be paid in accordance with the new law, which would give them an amount proportional to their years of service instead of six weeks' pay. It now appears that the practice of massive dismissals in order to avoid more extensive responsibilities after the new legislation enters into force is being mirrored by more violent means to intimidate and threaten workers who try to resist these moves.

We urge you to ensure that your government and the relevant Public Security Bureaus ensure the safety of labour activists and their organisations, who play a vital role in the well-being of local society and the welfare of the workers. We call upon your government to halt the harassment and detention of labour rights activists and to work with employees' and labour groups to address the negative effects of ongoing dismissals. In addition we urge your government to recognize the role which civil society groups – including labour rights’ groups – play in the creation and development of a harmonious society, one which your government is so eager to form.

Yours sincerely,

General Secretary

Cc Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, fax: +86 10 6529 2345
Mr. Li Chengyu, Governor of Henan, Provincial People's Government, fax: +86-371-65711621, e-mail: gufeng@cpmembers.org.cn
Mr. Qin Yuhai, Vice-governor of Henan, Provincial People's Government, and Police Chief of Henan, fax: +86-371-65882674
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Brussels, fax: 32-2-762.99.66/779.28.95
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington, fax: 1-202-588.00.32
Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China in Geneva, fax: 41-22-793.70.14
ACFTU Henan c/o ACFTU Beijing, fax: +86-10-68562031