Sacked Chinese workers in mass rally

Workers in China are only allowed to join government-controlled unions

SHANGHAI, China -- Tens of thousands of laid-off workers are protesting outside China's biggest oil field, angry at a dispute over their severance and at not being able to organize their own unions.

The protesters have grouped together every day since March 1 at the Daqing oil field in China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang, a city official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The protests spotlight the potential for social unrest in China, as it trims down or closes unprofitable government-run enterprises.

They also show the frustrations workers feel with government-controlled labor unions, the only unions China permits.

The official, who declined to give his name, said the protests were peaceful and police were not interfering.

But a Chinese labor rights activist said local authorities have readied paramilitary police and an army tank regiment. The troops have not confronted the protesters, said Han Dongfang, who runs a Hong Kong-based labor rights monitoring group.

As many as 50,000 workers have been staging the protests, he has been told.

The workers were laid off in 1999 as a cost-cutting move by Daqing Petroleum Administration Bureau, which runs the oil field.

The company is one of China's largest state-owned enterprises, with 300,000 workers.

Peaceful protest

The protesters, most former oil field workers in their 50s and 60s, are upset over payments promised when they were laid off.

Among these were heating subsidies of about 3,000 yuan ($360).

Protesters also claimed company officials received bonus payments of 900,000 yuan ($110,000) at the same time they were cutting benefits to former workers.

Others too are calling for the right to organize their own unions.

A company official would not confirm any of the protesters' claims. The official, who gave only his surname, Jiang, told The Associated Press the demonstrations were caused by a misunderstanding.

"It should be resolved pretty soon. Now workers are just coming to wait for the final say," Jiang said.

Han, the labor activist, said workers told him that railway lines into the massive oil field were cut. Local officials would not confirm this.

"These workers have real grievances, and they seem committed to continuing the protests until those grievances are addressed," he said.