According to an article published by China Court, armed thugs attacked a group of striking workers in Guangdong on June 29.  One worker was killed and six were severely injured.  Two workers are missing after being forced to jump into the nearby river.  The workers, who all hailed from Chongqing, were striking because they had not been paid for more than four months.  They were working at the Lankou Hydroelectric Power Station in Heyuan City, northern Guangdong province. 

The original source of the article is the Chongqing Morning Post, so this may be an interesting example of a newspaper trying to stick up for the rights of its ‘constituents’.  In writing the report, the journalist seemed to be working with officials from the hometown of the workers.  One of the biggest complaints contained in the report is the ineffectiveness of the police, who were unable to prevent the thugs from beating the workers.  According to the report, 35-year-old engineer Xiang Xiquan said that his leg was broken after the police arrived. 

If this report is true, then it demonstrates that the Chinese government needs to do a lot more to protect the rights of workers.  If the company in question can hire over 200 thugs to beat up the workers, then isn't this evidence that the company has been cheating the workers?  If it really did have a cashflow problem, then it wouldn't be able to pay the armed thugs or the criminal gang that controls them.

UPDATE:  Mary-Ann Toy from The Age has written a comprehensive report about the bashings, including an interview with one of the injured workers.