Workers protest over pay, toxic chemicals
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Angry employees who attacked a Taiwan company in Suzhou, Jiangsu province over management and pay disputes last Friday said yesterday they were not satisfied with the local government's investigation into the case.
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Angry employees attacked a Taiwan company in Suzhou, Jiangsu province over management and pay disputes last Friday.
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"The truth has been hidden from public view. There are people dying from long-term exposure to the toxicant used in the factory but no one is paying attention to that. There needs to be further investigation," a worker surnamed Zhu, who took part in Friday's gathering yet declined to give his full name, told China Daily yesterday.
He said at least four workers had died from overexposure to hexane, a toxic chemical workers had been asked to use for cleaning touch panels manufactured at United Win (China) Technology Ltd Co. The company is a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Wintek Corporation, one of the world's leading producers of small mobile phone panels and touch panels.
Local authorities, however, said at a press conference last Saturday that there had not been any deaths reported, and 47 people who showed symptoms of hexane poisoning had received due treatment.
Company executives and local officials were not available for comment yesterday.
More than 2,000 employees gathered at the factory located in Suzhou Industrial Park about 8:45 am Friday, and smashed vehicles and factory facilities despite explanations from management and local government officials. The workers also blocked a road and threw stones at police. No casualties were reported.
Media previously cited local authorities as saying workers had been provoked by rumors that the company planned to cancel a year-end bonus, which company executives later dismissed and promised to distribute before the Chinese Spring Festival that is less than a month away.
But Zhu said it was not just about the money. "What we feel angry about is the company authorities' apathy to our workers' health," he said.
