Description

From Want China Times:

About 1,000 employees of Snow Beer, an affiliate of American-based beer producer Budweiser located in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, went on a three-day strike last week, protesting poor wages and benefits, reports the Chinese-language Beijing Business Today.

About 1,000 workers from five factories took part in the protests, which began on Jan. 5. Three gates were blocked by crowds and no products were allowed to be sent out. An unnamed employee told the newspaper that the main reason for the strike was to protest low wages and poor benefits.

"Workers at other factories receive 13 months of salary in one year, but we do not get that treatment," the source said. Budweiser purchased Snow Beer in February 2011. According to the employee, managers at the factory have enjoyed the same wages and benefits paid out at foreign companies while workers are not given any extra benefits from purchases.

Guo Yanhong, general director of Budweiser China, told the newspaper that the protesters have now resumed working. The workers believed incorrectly that they would get better treatment following the acquisition by Budweiser, Guo explained.

"Budweiser was very concerned about this event and dealt with it reasonably. The workers were very satisfied with the result," Guo was quoted by the Beijing Business Today as saying. Guo refused to release any details.

Li Baojun, chairman of business data provider Societ Insights & Decision, said the strike echoed earlier protests at Snow Beer in China's southern city of Hangzhou. "Strikes have become common and knotty issues for the beer industry in China," said Li.

From Chilicity.com:

Under the Chinese Liaoning Province Dalian governs Pulandian's heavy snow brewery workers, because the discontented salary treatment struck continuously for three days.

It is reported that the heavy snow brewery after last year is purchased by the Belgian Pak Wai Medicine Co. UK Abundant Beer Company, for a long time neglects worker's request, has not provided the corresponding salary and the overtime pay legally.

On-line micro abundant, the web cam said that worker is mainly discontented to wages and benefits.

This factory nearly thousand staffs from January 5 8:00 am starts the collective to strike, 5 workshops shut down completely, the front door is stopped up, delivers the liquor vehicle being unable turnover.

It is reported that the administrative personnels to negotiate coordinated with the staff, Pulandian official also involved processing.

From RFA:

Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan sent in hundreds of police to clear away thousands of striking steel-workers outside a state-run factory, as their strike for more pay entered its third day on Friday.

Management at Chengdu's Pangang Steel met with labor representatives at lunchtime, offering them a raise of 300 yuan a month, although workers had demanded an increase of 500 yuan (U.S. $78) a month.

Pangang Steel workers, who sometimes fulfill orders for China's military, typically make around 1,500 yuan (U.S. $237) per month, but were calling for a raise to 2,000 yuan (U.S. $315), rights activists said this week.

Pu Fei, a spokesman for the Sichuan-based Tianwang rights group, said some workers had sent out text messages on Friday evening saying that management were willing to continue negotiations with workers, but that strikers had so far rejected their offers.

Pangang Steel had itself sent out text messages to workers calling on them to return to work, and local authorities had deployed around 1,000 police to the scene on Friday, Pu said.

"The workers continued their reasonable defense of their rights today," Pu said. "The police sent in anti-riot squads to supervise the area."

"Right now, management is offering a very small concession, a raise of just 260 yuan a month. The workers think [this] isn't very large."

"I have heard that more than 1,000 police and riot police have arrived at the scene now."

Tense face-off

A Chengdu resident surnamed Chen said he had tried to drive past the Pangang plant on Friday. "The traffic police had cordoned off the area and the road by the factory gates," he said. "They had sealed off all three intersections, and they were all watched by police."

"They were only letting people out, but they weren't letting them in," Chen said.

He said "thousands" of striking workers were holding up banners that read, "I want a raise," and that they had marched from the factory gates as far as a nearby expressway.

After a face-off lasting several hours, police had moved in to clear the crowds, sparking clashes, he added.

Pu said the strike had been conducted in an orderly manner from the workers' side.

"The workers have been pushing for their legal rights, and they made no acts of aggression towards the police," Pu said.

"There were some police employees who perpetrated malicious revenge, pouring oil on the flames," he added. "They are still at the scene, deliberately causing clashes."

Activists said on Thursday that many people in Sichuan had been spurred on by the concessions won by rebel villagers in the Guangdong village of Wukan last month, following armed clashes over barricades between local residents angry at official corruption and armed police.

Tapped out

Meanwhile, beer-factory workers in the northeastern port city of Dalian also walked out this week in a bid for higher wages, bringing production to a halt.

Workers from the Belgian-owned Snow Brewery, packaging plant, and warehouse operations had all joined in the strike, according to a worker surnamed Huang.

The company was bought last year by Belgium-based Anheuser Busch InBev.

"That's right, [no one is working,]" Huang said. "It's all because the management is unreasonable, or they wouldn't go on strike."

"All the trucks have stopped going out, so they can't deliver any orders," he said.

An employee who answered the phone at the company headquarters said management was still waiting for clear instructions from the parent company regarding the details of employee benefits under the new ownership.

"Our company was sold in March," the employee said. Asked if the strike was about pay and benefits, she replied: "That's right. All I can say is that the stuff that's being reported on the Internet about this is true."

"Right now, the workforce is really in need of help."

Repeated calls to management-level offices went unanswered during office hours on Friday.

An official who answered the phone at the Dalian municipal government complaints office said local officials were already dealing with the matter.

"The relevant government departments are dealing with this," the official said. "I don't know the details."

"The government is very concerned about the people's welfare now this incident has happened, so they will definitely deal with this."

Reported by Grace Kei Lai-see and Lin Jing for RFA's Cantonese service, and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

From China International Beer Net:

中国辽宁省大连市下辖普兰店市的大雪啤酒厂工人因不满薪酬待遇已连续罢工三天。
　　BBC报道，大雪啤酒厂于去年被比利时百威英博啤酒公司收购后，长期忽视工人的要求，没有依法提供相应的薪酬和加班费。
　　网上微博中，网民称工人主要对工资待遇不满。
　　该厂近千名员工从1月5日早上8时开始集体罢工，5个车间全部停工，大门被堵塞，送酒车无法进出。
　　据报道，管理人员正在与员工谈判协调，普兰店市官方也已介入处理。

From info.gongchang.com:

内容简介：新年将至，工人们盼望者拿上工资可以回家过年;百威英博大连大雪啤酒因福利待遇不满，千余人工人罢工;百威英博大连大雪啤酒员工罢工持续了三天，现已恢复工作。百威英博大连大雪啤酒员罢工也暴漏了外资品牌在华本土化过程中的一些问题。

　　事件回顾：

　　1月5日早上8点，百威英博辽宁大连大雪啤酒股份有限公司上千名工人举行罢工抗议。目前，劳资双方仍在协商，6日，该公司工人仍在罢工。

　　5日，上千工人聚集在该公司大楼前抗议，工厂3个大门被工人堵塞，送酒车无法通过。王姓员工表示，全公司都在罢工，近千人，各个部门都不生产，员工在外面站着，送酒的车也停了。以前大雪啤酒有的福利，现在收购后都没有了，现在双方还在协商。

因不满福利待遇，百威英博旗下的大连大雪啤酒股份有限公司员工近日举行罢工维权。记者昨日从百威英博方面证实，员工已经复工。虽然此事告一段落，但是外资品牌在华本土化过程中不断暴露出的问题却值得反思。

据了解，此次罢工从本月5日起共持续三天。据大雪啤酒员工透露，全公司近千人都在罢工，5个车间全部停工，3个大门被工人堵塞，送酒车无法进出。对于罢工原因，他表示：“主要是福利待遇低，别的工厂有13个月工资，大雪没有;工人要求一次性买断收购前的工龄，但公司却不肯，还有2011年取暖费，到现在都没有给。”也有员工发帖称，2011年2月百威英博收购大雪啤酒，管理人的工资福利全是按照外资企业正规模式走，可是工人这块却什么都没有!

　　昨日，百威英博中国企业事务总监郭彦宏在接受本报记者采访时表示，目前员工已经复工，之前是因为员工觉得大雪啤酒被全球500强的百威英博收购后，工资待遇也应该相应提高，所以才会罢工，“百威英博方面高度重视此事，已经合情合理地处理了此事，员工方面对处理结果都很满意”。但是对于详细的处理结果，她则表示不方便透露。

　　对于大雪啤酒员工罢工事件，深圳苏赛特商业数据董事长李保均评论称，大雪工厂罢工与雪花杭州西湖工厂停产遥相呼应，加上那些并未曝光的并购所致的停产罢工事件，“罢工”成了啤酒行业并购后所面临的经常性和棘手问题。大集团收购小企业，必然有文化、素质、福利等方面的问题需要解决，必然有利益冲突，工人“闹情绪”在所难免。

　　“虽然百威在国内发展及收购多年从来没有曝出员工罢工事件，但是此次事件的发生也在情理之中。”苏赛特公共关系总监杨青春分析称，从百威收购大雪的情况来看，很有可能是短时间内达成收购协议导致前期沟通不顺，整合过程中问题集中显现;另外，大雪啤酒为地方国企，与外企在体制上就存在着先天的差异，所以爆发矛盾也很容易理解。

　　事实上，外资啤酒企业入主国内啤酒厂遭遇员工罢工的，百威英博并不是第一家。2010年6月，嘉士伯收购重庆啤酒转让股权成为重啤大股东时，也受到了员工的罢工抵制，原因同样是员工担心被收购后自身的安置问题。去年百事将其在华瓶装厂转让给康师傅，同样引发了员工的罢工维权。

　　对此，有行业分析师认为，外资企业进入中国市场不可避免地面临着要本土化发展的问题，百威英博属于在中国本土化发展最为典型的外资啤酒企业，其在中国的发展及收购也是最为频繁的。而外企在国内完成收购后，无一例外地会对收购企业进行人事洗牌、实现体制文化融合等整合动作，一旦处理不好，就容易爆发纠纷，这也是外资品牌本土化过程中面临的主要难题。

From JTTP:

因福利待遇问题，1月5日早上8点，辽宁大连大雪啤酒股份有限公司上千名工人举行罢工抗议。目前，劳资双方仍在协商，6日，该公司工人仍在罢工。

5日，上千工人聚集在该公司大楼前抗议，工厂3个大门被工人堵塞，送酒车无法通过。王姓员工表示，全公司都在罢工，近千人，各个部门都不生产，员工在外面站着，送酒的车也停了。以前大雪啤酒有的福利，现在收购后都没有了，现在双方还在协商。

一位上早班的工人说：“昨天（5日）大家都不干活了，五条生产线全部停工。今天继续停止生产。昨天所有职工聚集在工厂找领导，上海总部派了一个部门经理来解答，都在敷衍我们，也没有什么结果。”

记者致电大连大雪啤酒股份有限公司询问工人罢工一事，该公司多个部门员工不愿回应此事，让记者问办公室。

对于这次工人罢工的原因，这位早班工人说：“主要是福利待遇低，别的工厂有13个月工资，大雪没有；工人要求一次性买断收购前的工龄，但公司却不肯；还有2011年取暖费，到现在都没有给。”

有工人发帖表示，2011年3月百威英博收购大雪啤酒，管理人的工资福利全是按照外资企业正规模式走，可是工人这块却什么都没有！现工人要求公开：新工资的考核标准、每年的工龄钱、取暖费、加班费、13个月的工资、正常班职员、工人的双休日安排等问题。

大连大雪啤酒股份有限公司始建于2001年，现已发展成辽宁省市场份额高居前三位的酒厂之一， 2011年3月被全球领先的啤酒酿造商百威英博啤酒集团全资收购。