China - Handbag workers beaten on strike (2012)

Around 4,000 workers at the Simone Handbag factory in Panyu, south China went on strike on 20 June over low pay and overly strict management. According to workers, police surrounded the factory to restrict access to the strikers. Several workers stated they had been beaten and that management was threatening workers with dismissal if they did not return to work. The strike was not reported by local media in order to reduce the possibility of copy cat strikes taking place as had happened last summer in the south of China.