Preventing scabs from picking up containers
On 18 August 2014 over 10,000 port truckers in Ningbo, China, went on strike, not having had a raise in over 8 years. The strike lasted almost a week, with management offering a 12% raise. It involved nearly the entire trucking fleet of Ningbo, which is China's 3rd busiest port and the world's 6th busiest. During the strike, the port was paralyzed and ships were diverted to Shanghai.
The strike took place at Beilun, which is Ningbo-Zhoushan's seaport, in addition to other inland ports that make up the larger port authority. According to some estimates, it's even the largest in China in terms of capacity, surpassing Shanghai. Truck drivers participated en masse and locked down all the container yards, preventing scabs from picking up containers. They are agitating primarily for an increase in piece-rate load payments that haven't risen in 8 years, while living costs have doubled in the same period, along with oil prices.
The sequence of events, roughly:
- 200 drivers from mostly smaller companies go on strike on the 18th
- one report says strike expanded to 60% of the workforce on the 19th, but others suggest this didn't happen until the 20th; in any case, workers start to occupy the larger container yards -- there are 6 terminals, each with several dozen yards and prevent scabbing trucks from picking up containers; tacks are laid at the main entrance to the port
- on the 20th, all the forces get called in -- military police, special police, border guard, regular police -- but are not enough to handle the workers, 2 drivers are arrested and more arrested marching on the police station to demand their release
- 22nd, a 12% rate increase goes into effect, which the industry business association says was planned anyway
- 24th things are clearing up, and the 25th reports say the port is back to operating as usual
There are many images of people beaten by the police but no reports about egregious weaponry usage or really mass violence by the police.
