Chinese Coca-Cola workers strike over asset sale

Beijing / AFP

Coca-Cola workers in three Chinese cities have gone on strike after the US soft drinks giant announced it was selling its bottling interests in the country.
Strikes and other labour protests have surged in recent years in China, where growth is slowing and parts of the economy are moribund. The beverage giant announced last week it was selling all its bottling assets in mainland China to Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Pacific and COFCO Corporation, one of China’s state-owned food giants.
The Swire transaction would cost 5.87 billion yuan the Hong Kong company said. COFCO did not disclose the size of its deal. Workers at three Coca-Cola plants called coordinated strikes on Monday, with pictures posted online appearing to show workers outside a factory in Chongqing with a banner that read: “We worked hard for over a decade but were sold in less than a second. Compensate! Compensate! Compensate!” Another proclaimed: “Give back my youth, compensate my time”.
Simultaneous strikes also took place in Chengdu, also in the southwest, and Jilin province in the northeast, other photos on social media showed. One worker said that more than 600 staff went on strike in Chengdu.
Separately, workers at a Sony factory in the southern city of Guangzhou have downed tools in protest at the sale of the Sony Electronics Huanan subsidiary, which managed the site, to a Chinese company.