China sees surge in worker protests over unpaid wages, factory closures and US tariffs
Worker protests over unpaid wages are increasing throughout
China
, reflecting a surge in dissatisfaction among millions impacted by factory closures due to hefty US tariffs on Chinese imports amidst an economic slump, as reported by Radio Free Asia (RFA).
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From Dao county in Hunan province to Suining city in Sichuan and Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia, numerous frustrated workers have taken to the streets to voice their grievances about overdue wages and to contest unfair layoffs at factories forced to shut down due to US tariffs.
The workers claimed that the Sichuan-based firm, which produces flexible circuit boards, had not compensated them for their wages since the beginning of the year and had withheld social security benefits for nearly two years from June 2023, according to the RFA report.
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Analysts at the American investment bank Goldman Sachs have estimated that at least 16 million jobs across various sectors in China are at risk due to US President Donald Trump's implementation of a 145% tariff on Chinese imports.
They predict that the increased tariffs from the Trump administration will "considerably impact the
Chinese economy
," with slower economic growth expected to further strain the labour market, especially in export-oriented industries.
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Earlier this week, more than a dozen migrant workers in Tuanjie village, located in the northwestern Shaanxi province's Xi'an prefecture, voiced their concerns at a local project office, stating that they had not received their wages since February 2025.
On April 24, hundreds of employees from Guangxin Sports Goods in Dao county organised a strike after the company's factory shut down without providing their owed compensation or social security benefits, as highlighted by the RFA report.
Workers at the factory, which specializes in sports protective gear and related products, alleged that Guangxin Sports wrongfully terminated over 100 female employees over the age of 50 in September 2024, citing "retirement age" as the reason, without issuing their owed wages or assisting them with retirement processes.
As stated by the US-based nonprofit Freedom House's China Dissent Monitor, the majority of protests documented in China during the third quarter of 2024 were driven by workers, who made up 41% of all in-person and online dissent events in the country.
Approximately three-quarters of all protests recorded were related to economic issues, including workers seeking unpaid salaries, homeowners contending with stalled housing projects, and rural conflicts regarding land confiscation, Freedom House noted in the report by RFA.
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