The following is a letter by a worker. The worker was among the 15 workers who were fired on 16 May 2008. The names had been deleted for security reason.
We are Fired because of Fund-raising
The Sichuan earthquake has tugged the heartstrings of people all over China. We should all help in this critical disaster. We should offer a caring heart to the victims of the earthquake. In these mourning days, we should not file complaints. However, we are forced to do so. We hope someone can embrace justice and clear our names.
The incident: On 15 May 2008, our team-leader, H (team-leader’s name) discussed with us to initiate a fund-raising for the earthquake victims. I, F (the worker’s name) and some other workers were responsible for making the box for fund-raising. As we know that we should not initiate the fund-raising ourselves, it might be better to have Maersk to initiate that. On 16 May 2008 at 8 am, I took a fund-raising box with me.
I wanted to meet with the management to make suggestion on the fund-raising. I waited for long hours before I could meet the management according to their arrangement. I told the manager I met about our suggestion and I donated 200 Yuan but he said I did not need to make donation. The management needed to get the department’s approval to do that. However the department-in-charge had not yet made any decision on this matter. He then asked which was my work-station and who was my team-leader. I replied, “I worked at the side-cover station (側板線) and my team-leader is H (team-leader’s name).” Then I went back to work after the meeting. Then during lunch, we heard that H (team-leader’s name) was fired because of the fund-raising. We were so angry that we made a banner to protest against the dismissal. Shortly after the protest had started, Maersk posted a notice, stating that all workers on the side-cover station had to come and meet with the management at 16:30 at the 2/F canteen. Any workers absent would be immediately dismissed.
We all went to the meeting. However, the management did not want to have any solid discussion with us regarding the fund-raising. They only asked us to sign a statement and go back to work. They stressed that we could get back the day’s salary if we signed the agreement. For those who do not sign would be fired. As a result, many of us signed the agreement but 15 refused to sign as it was sheer intimidation. The management held the meeting at 16:30 which was an overtime period. After 16:30, the production line continued as usual. We continued to protest but did not obstruct any workers to carry on their duty. Yet no one from the management came to communicate with us. The night shift production had once been suspended but we were still protesting. We did not know anything about the work-station. Since 2006, we had been posting our demands and suggestions. No matter how reasonable they were, all were rejected. Productivity rate and workload have been increasing.
Our income was low but working hour was long. The salary structure was too complicated for us to comprehend. Our life was difficult. We expressed our concerns and demands to the management but got no response. The high turnover rate put more pressure on the experienced workers. The problems have triggered three strikes and every time workers were dismissed immediately after the strike. The largest dismissal involved more than 40 workers. On 10 May 2008, 32 workers were dismissed. Workers were given no reasons for the dismissals nor could they get any compensation. Working in such a terrorized environment, how can we feel safe? The management does not care about workers, it suppress workers’ views and refuse to take responsibility... We are powerless and nobody offers us help. If we follow the legal procedures to fight for our rights, it takes a long time to get the result. Then who takes care of our family? In addition, the local government often protects the interest of the corporation, hence we have no way out. We hope someone could offer help and uphold justice and clear our names.
Signed by the worker.