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From Reuters via The Star:

SHANGHAI—A two-day strike over rising fuel prices turned violent in Shanghai on Thursday as thousands of truck drivers clashed with police, drivers said, in the latest example of simmering discontent over inflation.

About 2,000 truck drivers battled baton-wielding police at an intersection near Waigaoqiao port, Shanghai’s biggest, two drivers who were at the protest told Reuters.

The drivers, who blocked roads with their trucks, had stopped work on Wednesday demanding the government do something about rising fuel costs, workers said.

“I want the government to stand up to solve our problems because we cannot take this any more. We are unable to bear the cost of operating now,” said a driver surnamed Chen, 33, a native of Henan province who has been driving for eight years.

The strike comes against a backdrop of rising consumer prices and fuel price increases. China’s inflation rate hit 5.4 per cent in March, prompting officials to renew vows to use all available means to contain price rises.

Police arrested at least six people and beat up some protesters with batons, said Chen and another driver also surnamed Chen, 35. They declined to give their full names or the name of their company for fear of reprisals.

Both drivers, who work for a small transport company, showed photographs to two Reuters reporters of police carrying a man with a bloodied head, with his wife and daughter at his side.

Repeated calls to the Shanghai public security bureau and the municipal government went unanswered.

Truck drivers also staged strikes in other ports in Shanghai including Baoshan and Yangshan, the drivers said.

The strikes and protests, if they continue, could become a worry for the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which fears public discontent that could erode its authority and alarm investors.

Workers say their wages have not kept up with rising prices.

The 33-year-old Chen said his disposable income had fallen to 4,000 yuan ($613 U.S.) a month, from 6,000 to 7,000 yuan a month last year.

The 35-year-old Chen said he was still on strike, together with what he estimated were thousands of others.

At a parking lot three blocks away from the protest site, about 30 anti-riot policemen arrested two truck drivers and dispersed a crowd of 50 to 70.

Earlier, other truck drivers had driven past, shouting to their fellow drivers to “join the strike, stop driving”.

ROE Logistics, a Montreal-based customs broker and freight forwarder, issued a statement on Wednesday about a strike at a Shanghai port, saying it could result in delays.

“Delays in receipt of export containers may result in possible knock-on effects to sea freight with possible delays or rollovers from carriers,” the firm said.

An employee in Shanghai from another shipping company, New York-based Ocean World Lines, confirmed there had been a strike but declined to give other information.

“This is a sensitive topic. I really don’t have any other information,” Max Wang told Reuters.

It is not clear which ports in Shanghai ROE Logistics and Ocean World Lines operate from.

China’s state media has been silent on the protest, underscoring the sensitivity of unrest for the ruling Communist Party, which normally stamps out protests fearing a threat to stability.

China said in early April it would increase retail gasoline and diesel prices by 5 to 5.5 per cent to record highs.

Last May, a burst of labour disputes disrupted production for many foreign automakers including Toyota and Honda, which laid bare the rising demands of China’s 150 million migrant workers and raised questions about the region’s future as a low-cost manufacturing base.

From Boxun:

博讯据网上消息，4月20日上午10点开始，上海集装箱卡车司机全面罢工，抗议油价上涨和各种乱收费，当局出动大批警察镇压，网传有一人被打死。有消息称，罢工司机与军警发生冲突，已经发生车辆烧毁的情况。

这些司机多数是外地人，因为罢工应该对上海海港的船运影响巨大。

到博讯发稿时，除了《财新网》，党报、媒体对如此大事件没有报道，网上相关信息也很快被删除。

观察人士认为，中国各地类似的大事件时常发生，但因为缺乏跨行业和跨地区的协调、呼应，都虎头蛇尾。就以上海为例，拆迁访民等完全可以加入这样的示威，提出自己合理的诉求。而其它城市的卡车司机面临同样的问题，为什么不和上海司机一起讨公道呢？另外，现场的警察多数应该清楚现实，示威的民众尽量说服、软化警察对自己诉求的理解。

财新网：上海集装箱司机集会 要求运费上涨

　　【财新网】（见习记者 王晓庆）4月20日，由于油价等运营成本上涨挤压生存空间，上海部分为集装箱运货的卡车司机，自早上9点半开始，在主要集装箱集散地聚集，要求货运公司或工厂提高运输费用。

　　财新记者在上海浦西宝山区水产路中集物流公司一处集合点了解到，约有几百名集装箱司机在此聚集，并有大量公安维持秩序，到下午时多数司机已散去。此外，在浦东凌桥电影院、外高桥保税区等地也有司机聚集。

　　一位参与集会的货运司机告诉财新记者，由于油价上涨等因素挤压卡车司机利润，国内成品油自2010年底上调后，司机们发现“已经不赚钱了。”

　　自2010年10月以来，国家发改委四次提高油价，汽柴油累计每吨提价1390元和1270元，累计上调幅度超过15％。进入2011年涨价两次，包括 2月20日加汽柴油价格每吨各上调350元，涨幅4.5％，及4月7日将汽柴油每吨分别提价500元和400元，上调了5.63%和4.9%。

　　多名参与集会的司机告诉财新记者，这些个体的集装箱司机大多以40万-50万元的价格购买集装箱卡车投入运营，当工厂有货物运输要求时，一般由货运公司承接，再转给运输公司调集运力。运输公司召集个体集装箱卡车运输，并支付给他们一定的运输费。集装箱卡车使用柴油，油耗是其主要的运营成本，仅此一项，每个月就达3万-4万元。在2010年底油价上涨前，每辆车如运营正常，每月约能获得大概在4000元－5000元之间的纯收入。

　　但油价上涨后，司机们获得的运输费用并没有相应增加，收入收到影响，有些车主本身并不开车，而另聘司机，需要支付司机的费用就要4000多元，则收入所剩无几。

　　此次参与集会的司机希望货运公司和厂方能提高运输费用，缓解油价上涨压力的传导。