Fifty drivers and warehousemen from the Sanyuan-Sojitz Logistics Company went on strike in Beijing Saturday night in a dispute over working hours. Deliveries of Sanyuan milk products to the Changping, Shunyi and Chaoyang districts were disrupted. The company hired vans from outside in an attempt to break the strike but some wholesalers returned products that would soon passed their sell-by dates.

Sanyuan-Sojitz Logistics Company delivers Sanyuan milk products in the Beijing area. It is a joint venture between Beijing Sanyuan Group, Japan's Sojitz Corp. and Sojitz (China) Lt. Corp.

According to Mr. Zhang, one of the striking drivers, working conditions changed dramatically after a recent change in management personnel. The drivers' workload was doubled, but they received no additional pay.

Some drivers began night shifts at 8:30 p.m., and did not finish work till 3:00 the following afternoon. When they asked the management to reduce their hours, they were told "if you don't like it, leave". Some did indeed resign, but 50 drivers and warehousemen decided to strike at the start of Saturday night's shift. In response, the company hired vans from Gome and some house removal companies to deliver the milk.

The vans were supposed to be back at the company around noon, but only a few were on time according to a shipment manager. And because of delivery delays, wholesalers returned 160 boxes of fresh milk, which has a shelf life of only 48 hours. One of the company managers denied there was a strike, saying that some workers had "asked for leave". He said the Gome vans were assisting with deliveries because they are "partners".

The drivers said that if they do not get a satisfactory settlement they will put the issue to the labor department for arbitration.

(China.org.cn by Fan Junmei, December 15, 2008)