In mid-2010 a strike wave rolled through China's factories, the most widespread and militant struggle of China's internal migrant workers so far. The struggle shook the Chinese regime and provoked a world-wide debate: Is this the beginning of the end of the low-wage-model... that stands behind China’s rise to the “factory of the world” and provides the rest of the world with cheap consumer products? The strikes continued in 2011, and together with riots and peasant uprisings they are indicators for the increasing pressure for social change in China.
This talk/ discussion (including a ten-minute film) will focus on the strikes, the formation of a new working class movement in China, and the implications for social struggles around the world.
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Melbourne Free University presents a special seminar with Ralf Rukus.
Ralf Ruckus is a labor researcher/activist with a focus on the conditions and
struggles of migrant workers in China. He runs www.gongchao.org
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The MFU is an autonomous organisation that was established in 2010, and aims to create a space for constructive engagement with ideas and knowledge for its own sake, rather than the more outcome-oriented education of the formal education system. We are completely free and open - anyone can attend sessions regardless of their qualifications, and we do not take enrolments. The MFU runs regular courses on topics ranging from political philosophy, to permaculture and sustainability, to indigenous issues, refugee issues, law, politics, cinema, linguistics, literature and more. Further information about the MFU can be found at www.melbournefreeuniversity.org.