A Open Letter to Support Striking Honda Workers: Pay a Tribute to the workers

A Open Letter to Support Striking Honda Workers: Pay a Tribute to the workers

Workers Forum

Honda workers in the Foshan City in Guangdong province had endured low wages, terrible food, poor labor condition, harsh management for a long time, but they decided no longer silent. The workers worked out against the Honda Motor Co Ltd on May 17th finally.

It is a very meaningful day for Honda Workers,because they organized together for collective action against their employer first time.

First of all, let's recall the event, simply.

After the Strike on May 17th, the labor-management conflict in Honda had been getting more and more fierce each day. On May 20th, management agreed to answer the worker's acclaim on May 24th in a consultation. However, the management still wanted to plot against the strike. On May 21th, the employer withdrew the staff cards of two workers by violence who were seen as the strike's leaders and spread a rumor which the company would recruit the new workers to substitute the striking workers. In the morning of May 22th, in order to threaten the workers, the managers laid off two workers publicly by broadcast.

On May 31, the Shishan union, an official union which belongs to All China Federation of Trade Unions, organized hundreds of persons who wore yellow caps to attack the striking workers by violence. The union's persons' attack did not spare even female workers.

At the same day, because a large of part of Honda plaint are intern workers, the employer asked the teachers of the workers' technical school (vocational school) to threaten the workers. The teachers demanded the workers went back to work and signed a no-strike-anymore agreement otherwise they would not get their diploma.

On June 1st, the Shishan Union arrived the strike site again,and said they had made a significant contributions to end the strike.

On June 3th, the delegation of the Honda striking workers sent an open letter to all the workers and the Chinese society, asking the management to fulfill the promise, deploring the Shishan Union, and requesting the support of society, publicly.

Second, after the review of the event, we have the opinion as follows.

1. The Honda workers reflect the power and hope of the new workers in China. In their open letter, we can see that the first-line workers as the backbone of the whole campaign are approved by workers. Most requirements of the workers, including inter workers and dispatched workers, became the delegates' insistent requests.

2. During the strike, the employers not only did not appease the dissatisfied workers, make any effort to be reconciled with the striking workers, but also struggled against the workers' reasonable demands at every moment; They not only suppressed the striking workers by violence, but also colluded with other forces to intensified the workers' struggling emotion. It fully exposed the scheme of employer which intensify purposely the workers' reasonable and legitimate action to an illegal and extreme event.

3. During this 15-day strike, the Shishan Union did not carry out its duty, but suppress the strike with the employer. They assaulted the striking worker (include the female workers), causing several workers wounded and bleeding. It was really scandalous and incredible.

4. After May 21th, the Honda strike has been concerned by the society increasingly. Many local and abroad labor organizations, including the Worker Forums and the Shenzhen Red Flower Information Consulting, were paying close attention with the detail of the strike. In the end of the May, the strike has become the most important labor event on the Internet, overtaking the event of Foxconn suicides.

According to the analysis of the migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta by the Red Flower, most Honda workers belong to "student workers" category who enter into the factories directly after they leave schools. In the recent China, the student workers have been the most amount and has the higher culture of all workers. In the Pearl River Delta, there are about tens of millions of "student workers", which are similar to the Honda workers, and the number of them are growing rapidly every year. Over time, the labor movement of "student workers" has become one of the most significant phenomenon of the working class movement. The Honda student workers' strike action proves our analysis.

The Honda workers' action let us notice the power and hope of the Chinese new workers. At the same time, we also prospect the future of the working class in China.

First, we believe that the requests of the delegation of Honda workers not only are reasonable and lawful, but also represent the opinion of the majority of the Honda workers. In the present situation of price increases, the demands for wage increases are justifiable and reasonable. And the employers should agree the requests with the workers as soon as possible.

Second, the requests which represent the all staff's benefit is legitimate. The delegation "maintain a high degree of unity of all workers and avoid the division by the employer." In the future, the majority of the front-line workers should take part in the negotiations actively, hold the front-line workers conference to discuss the uniform requirements which the base line are come from their demand.

Third, the condemnation to the Shishan Union from the delegation is very reasonable. If a union can not help workers, it is not the workers' union. The union, which helps the management to repress workers, is a reactionary union. We will be interesting to see if the Shishan union is want to be a real union or a reactionary union. Let's wait and see the answer together. Besides, we support the delegation's insistence,"grass-roots trade union must be elected by the front-line workers."

Forth, on behalf of all staffs of the Work Forum and the Shenzhen Red Flower Information Consulting salute to all Honda strike workers and the delegation members. We sincerely wish you victory in the struggle. We will try our best to spread the spirit of struggle of the Honda workers all over our motherland, and let the workers of all the factories in China feel your indomitable spirit.

Finally, the Worker Forum send a call to all the net citizens, let's shout together for supporting the Honda workers, blame the Honda management and the Shishan Union. The Worker Forum also call on all Chinese trade unions to condemn the Shishan Union's violent repression to the labor movement.（Translation：yangming and Torrent）