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Workers protest over job cuts in central China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-10 23:48

WUHAN: Hundreds of workers at a holding company of French firm Alstom in central China's Wuhan City blocked a major road to protest for the potential job-cuts, local authorities said Friday.

More than 1,000 workers of Wuhan Boiler Co. Ltd, (WBC) started blocking the Wuluo Road, the major road in Wuhan City, capital of Hubei Province, at about 9 a.m. The traffic resumed at about 10 a.m. after police dispersed the crowd.

The protest was triggered by a company plan Wednesday for more than 580 of its 2,300 employees to "receive training while awaiting job assignments."

The trainees were paid 1,000 yuan as subsidies, while the insurance was cut.

The company started relocating to a new base this May. Because of higher mechanization and automation of the new factory, only 800 to 1,000 workers were needed, compared with the 2,300 current jobs.

Workers said they feared the company would leave them jobless as the "training" was scheduled to be finished at the end of the year, when their job contracts expire.

"My three children all work at the company. If they become jobless, how will the family go on living," said Shi Longzhang, a 75-year-old retired worker from the company. "I hope the government can help us safeguard our legal rights."

About 300 were still on the road as of 9 p.m. while government officials and the company's management were holding a meeting with workers.

No other details were available.

The company was purchased in August 2007 by Alstom, which holds 51 percent of the shares. The new factory base, expected to be finished this year, will become Alstom's largest boiler manufacturing base in the world, according to the website of WBC.