Beijing - After two days of demonstrations by angry factory workers, authorities in the north-east Chinese city of Liaoyang have promised to provide hundreds of workers with wages and pensions owed for up to two years, according to officials at a troubled state-owned metal alloy plant, writes Conor O'Clery. Police also freed three worker-pensioners who led demonstrations which were broken up violently on Monday night by armed police, causing dozens of injuries.
On Tuesday hundreds of workers and pensioners laid siege to the industrial town's government offices demanding back payment of wages and benefits and release of the three men.
"The government promised to pay off our salaries by the end of October," a factory official said yesterday.
Many loss-making plants in China are going bankrupt as Beijing modernises its industrial base in preparation for entry into the World Trade Organisation. In Beijing EU and Chinese negotiators ended a third day of talks without reaching agreement on China's membership of the WTO.