As the downward pressure on the economy intensifies, Chinese companies are facing unprecedented challenges. As the year-end approaches, issues such as wage arrears and layoffs have become social hot spots. Against this background, employees of Shanghai Guoli Automotive Leather Trim Company took to the streets on November 21 to defend their rights. This incident reflects the severity of the current economic situation and the intensification of labor-capital conflicts.

Workers' rights protection: from wage demands to struggle

In the early morning of November 21, a striking scene of workers' protests appeared on Husong Road in Minhang District, Shanghai. Hundreds of Guoli workers in white work clothes gathered at the intersection, shouting slogans and demanding the payment of overdue wages. For a time, traffic was paralyzed, and the police immediately rushed to the scene to try to disperse the crowd, and the two sides clashed.

Multiple on-site videos showed that the police tried to forcibly take away the rights-defending workers, causing the scene to become more chaotic. Workers shouted "The police beat people", and the scene was out of control for a time. This protest was not an isolated incident, but a "forced collective action" by Guoli employees after many negotiations failed.

Company status: from glory to decline

Shanghai Guoli Automotive Leather Trim Co., Ltd. was established in 1996 and was once the leading supplier of domestic automotive leather seats. Partners include mainstream car companies such as SAIC Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen. However, with the rise of new energy vehicles and the shrinking market of traditional fuel vehicles, Guoli has gradually lost its market competitiveness.

Since 2021, the company's performance has begun to decline. In 2023, although the company still has orders, it is struggling. By 2024, the factory on Zhongchun Road has completely stopped production. Affected by this, the company began to pay employees' salaries at the minimum wage standard, and even arrears occurred.

An old employee who has worked at Guoli for more than 20 years revealed: "The company did not pay wages in October, and more than 2,000 front-line workers were affected. The top management only paid their own wages, but did not explain to the grassroots employees."

Employees' anger and helplessness

In response to the problem of wage arrears, Guoli Company issued an announcement, claiming that it is willing to provide "generous treatment" to old employees with more than three years of service, including compensation for three months of minimum wage. However, this proposal was criticized by employees as "hypocritical".

Employees pointed out that the compensation standard was not calculated based on the average salary of the past 12 months, but on the minimum wage, which is obviously unacceptable. In addition, the "recommended admission" commitment mentioned in the announcement is not guaranteed in actual operation.

Some employees expressed their dissatisfaction on social platforms: "We have not had real work for more than half a year, but the company only wants to get rid of us with low compensation."

Background analysis: General dilemma under economic pressure

Guoli's dilemma is not an isolated case, but a microcosm of the difficulties of business operations in the economic environment. Data shows that in the third quarter of this year, public protests in China increased by 27% year-on-year, of which 41% were initiated by workers. Most of these protests are directly related to economic issues, including wage arrears, layoffs and social security issues.

Not only the manufacturing industry, but other industries are also stuck in the quagmire. For example, employees of the well-known Shanghai chain restaurant brand "simply thai" posted on social media to accuse them of being owed wages and social security. And Wenrunde Company in Zhuhai, Guangdong, led to a collective protest by workers because the boss "ran away".

From contradictions to countermeasures

The current economic situation is a severe test for both labor and capital. For enterprises, how to find a balance between cost pressure and employee rights is an urgent problem to be solved. For the government and society, more attention should be paid to the living conditions of grassroots employees, and practical legal and policy guarantees should be provided to avoid further intensification of contradictions.

Behind the Shanghai Guoli incident is the pain of a country's economic transformation period. This pain is both a challenge and an opportunity. If we can learn lessons from it and promote more fair and reasonable labor-capital relations and economic policies, we may be able to truly achieve social stability and development.

Behind the rights protection of Shanghai Guoli employees is a labor-capital game caused by economic pressure. How to help enterprises get out of difficulties while protecting employee rights will be a difficult problem faced by future policymakers and all sectors of society. In the face of these problems, we need more patience, wisdom and action to explore a win-win path.