Workers at a Japanese-owned electronics factory in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin were on strike over pay and benefits on Thursday, the latest in a spate of labour disputes as an increasingly disgruntled workforce demands better conditions.
More than 100 workers in green uniforms, mostly women, were standing and sitting on the steps leading into the Tianjin Mitsumi Electric factory, which makes parts for electronic appliances.
Beijing is normally quick to crush mass protests but the labour strikes this summer have spread as the government tries to restructure its export-driven economy to be self-sustaining through measures aimed at increasing the incomes of ordinary people.