春節後中國勞工抗議有所回升
Labour protests in China bounced back from a minor dip last month, reflecting a new status quo of more frequent and widespread collective action as the country comes to grips with slower growth.
上個月，中國的勞工抗議次數在小幅下降之後發生反彈，反映出一種新現狀：隨着經濟增速的放緩，集體行動越來越頻繁，波及範圍越來越廣。
While the leadership in Beijing has taken to calling China’s decelerating economic expansion the “new normal,” that transition has been accompanied by another shift: a consistently higher frequency of worker protests and strikes.
儘管北京的領導層喜歡把中國的經濟放緩稱爲“新常態”，但伴隨轉型發生了另一種變化：工人抗議與罷工的頻率一直在提高。
Protests nationwide recorded on China Labour Bulletin’s strike map totalled 207 in April, up from 172 the previous month and representing year-on-year growth of just over 5 per cent.
“中國勞工通訊”(China Labour Bulletin)的罷工地圖顯示，4月份，全國記錄在案的抗議次數爲207次，高於前一個月的172次，年同比增加了5%以上。
In China, labour incidents have historically tended to peak ahead of the Chinese New Year when migrant factory and construction workers are paid for their work before returning home for a long holiday, after which strike activity usually cooled off substantially. Both of those sectors have been hit particularly hard by a real estate slump whose knock-on effects have are still being felt throughout the economy, and in January protests hit a record high of 503.
從歷史上看，中國的勞工事件通常在春節之前達到頂峯——春節時，製造業和建築業的農民工在回家度過很長的假期之前，會領到勞動所得。春節之後，罷工活動通常會大幅冷卻下來。房地產市場萎靡對這兩個行業造成了特別大的衝擊。如今，整個經濟體仍感覺到房地產市場萎靡的連鎖反應。今年1月，抗議活動達到了創紀錄的503次。
But factory and construction workers angered by their employers’ behaviour are now joined more and more by those in other industries, with employers already squeezed by low demand and rising wages afforded far less breathing room after the new year festivities end.
但是，如今工廠和建築工地的農民工被僱主行爲激怒的現象更多地蔓延到其他行業。在新年歡慶過後，本已受到需求低迷和工資升高打擊的僱主，感到喘息空間比以往小多了。
Geoffrey Crothall, communications director at China Labour Bulletin, said that “what we are seeing now is a consistently high level of protests in an increasingly wide range of sectors, including many in the so-called new economy.”
“中國勞工通訊”的溝通總監傑弗裏•克羅塞爾(Geoffrey Crothall)說，“我們如今看到的是，抗議的烈度一直都很高，並且波及行業越來越廣，包括很多所謂新經濟行業。”
The 19 protests recorded in the services sector last month, just shy of double the historical average, bear that out. Still, these were less than half the 54 protests seen in manufacturing during the period.
上個月，服務業記錄在案的抗議有19次——差一點達到歷史平均值的兩倍——證明了這一點。儘管如此，這個數字還不足上月製造業54次抗議的一半。
Protests prevalence has extended geographically as well: Hong Kong-adjacent Guangdong – a manufacturing powerhouse which has a long history of labour activism – recorded the highest number of protests at 26 in April. But activity elsewhere is on the rise, and last month five other provinces saw their own totals hit double digits.
抗議盛行也擴展到更多地區：毗鄰香港的廣東省——勞工運動歷史悠久的製造業基地——4月發生的抗議達26次，爲全國最高的。但所有其他地區的抗議活動也在增多，上月另外5個省的抗議數也達到了兩位數。
