Striking workers hold Shanghai company for two days

Chinese labour movement militancy continues.
 
More than 1,000 migrant workers of Shanghai Shinmei Electric, a Japanese electronic appliance maker, went on strike and held 18 company
executives against their will for nearly 48 hours.
 
The workers were protesting 49 regulations instituted by the new owner of the company, calling for heavy fines or immediate termination for
various infractions. One employee said, "We earn less than 2,000 yuan a month, but we could be subjected to fines of 50 to 100 yuan for
arriving late or spending more than two minutes in the toilet."
 
On Friday morning, January 18, the workers struck. Among those held captive was the company's president, Hideaki Tamura. It was not until
Saturday night that hundreds of Shanghai police officers charged into the company to free the managers, injuring workers in the process.
 
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the company has apologized to its workers for the regulations, and has promised to
increase their salaries.