Amid the COVID-19 lockdown protests and the chaos caused by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) “zero-COVID” policy, some of the regime’s pandemic control staff in Beijing went on strike in recent days and protested in front of a subdistrict government office over owed wages.
In a video provided by an interviewee, dozens of epidemic control staff gathered to protest in front of the Anzhen Subdistrict office in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
“Pay up my hard-earned money!” they shouted.
Someone shouted, “Pay up! I risked my life to earn the money!”
Footage of the incident was widely spread on the internet, but the videos have since been deleted from China’s social media platforms by the CCP’s cyber monitors.
On Nov. 29, some netizens on Chinese social media platform Weibo urgently called for social support, saying that the local epidemic control staff were on strike due to wage issues and that residents who were locked down at home were facing difficulties. The staff is responsible for distributing rationed food, delivering medicine, and providing basic services and assistance to the residents, besides enforcing the lockdown.
One netizen wrote, “Building 6 in Anhuaxili, Anzhen Street, is currently being abandoned, and the residents who have been shut in don’t have any services and their calls for help have been ignored.”
Another post reads, “[The protest] happened again in Anzhen Street, and it’s also about rights protection. But last time, it was the residents asking to lift the lockdown; this time, it’s the epidemic control staff asking for wages.”
Mr. Lin, a resident of Anhuali District 1, confirmed with The Epoch Times on Nov. 30 that epidemic control staff had been on strike in the community recently and that they had gathered in front of the CCP’s street office to protest and demand owed salaries.
Security Guards Called In
“Our neighborhood has been locked down for more than 10 days,” Mr. Lin said. “The staff have been asking for owed salaries for a few days. They went together to the street office to ask for money. They went on strike collectively and all left the community in the morning. The community is in a mess. People were shouting together in front of the subdistrict office, the video online was censored, [with the authorities afraid of the roar of the people].”
Ms. Liu from Anhuali District 1 told The Epoch Times on Nov. 30 that during the lockdown and strike, the elderly who don’t know how to shop online haven’t had anything to eat.
“The staff who are on strike to ask for owed salaries are also the security guards who keep people locked in while passing deliveries into the buildings,” she said. “They mainly watch at the sealed-off doors of the buildings. After the strike, Building 6 was abandoned. Now, the authorities have sent in a batch of new security guards to replace them.”
The Epoch Times called the CCP’s Anzhen Street office and the Anhuali Community Residential Committee office for comment, but its calls went unanswered.
Growing Strikes
This isn’t the first time that CCP epidemic control staff have gone on strike.
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The Epoch Times reported in July that in northeast China’s major city of Shenyang, epidemic control staff went on strike at multiple mass PCR testing sites over owed wages from the local government. They complained about not getting payment online but were threatened by the authorities to delete their posts.
In September, the Financial Times reported that epidemic control staff in many Chinese cities were on the verge of collapse because of extended work hours, the summer heat, and owed wages.
Tong Gen, a columnist for the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, wrote on Dec. 1 that the regime’s epidemic control staff, as well as the military and police who are implementing the central government’s “zero-COVID” policy, are also in a pitiful situation.
“They and their families are also victims of the regime’s policy,” Tong Gen wrote. “They just want to make a living so they obey the CCP. During the COVID protests against the CCP, the epidemic staff also changed their attitude and in their hearts they’re on the side of the people.”
Zhao Fenghua and Hong Ning contributed to this report.