Armored truck guard strike disrupts cash supply

More than 1,000 armored vehicle guards in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province on Tuesday took to the streets to strike for a pay rise, which led to temporary suspensions of cash services at some banks.

The strike, triggered by the accidental death of a guard while at work, lasted almost 12 hours and ended after mediation with city officials.

According to the city's public security bureau, the rally began at around 7 am Tuesday at the entrance of the security company, Guangzhou Sui Bao Escort & Convoy Corporation.

Xie Xiaodan, a deputy mayor and city police chief, arrived at the scene to aid in negotiations between the company and the striking guards. He called on the strikers to express their appeal rationally instead of adopting aggressive acts that harm public interests, according to a statement from local police.

"The crowd left the site around 7 pm after Xie talked to the crowd, claiming there would be a monthly pay rise of 500 yuan ($82.6) and other problems with the company's management system would be straightened out," one of the strikers, who did not want to reveal his identity, told the Global Times Tuesday.

He said that after some employees started the industrial action, others arriving to start their shift joined in. Only less than one-fifth of the company's 500-plus armored vehicles operated as usual.

The source, who has worked at the company for 10 years and earns 3,500 yuan a month, said that there is a high staff turnover due to low salaries and long working hours.

The wife of another protester, surnamed Lai, told the Global Times that her husband works more than 15 hours a day and alleged that unreasonable salary deductions are also taken by the company.

The strike was triggered after a truck guard died when his gun accidentally discharged as he bent to pick up a fallen cellphone battery in his armored vehicle Saturday.

While the reason for the discharge is still under police investigation, the company announced a 100 yuan salary increase the same day. This caused more discontent, said Lai and the source, who both described the strike as a cry for help after having put up with onerous working conditions for a long time.

"We're also asking the company to strengthen the management of guns as the company now only allows one guard per vehicle to carry one, since staff numbers have decreased. They sometimes even let new recruits that fail to pass a firearms test to carry them, which creates great pressure for us," the source said. There are usually four guards per vehicle.

Residents in Guangzhou complained about the shortage of cash at several city banks and traffic congestion caused by street blockages around the company headquarters.

The company handles 80 to 90 percent of cash transfers for Guangzhou banks, a source from the local police was quoted as saying by the Shanghai-based China Business Network.

Banks in the city put contingencies in motion after the incident and the cash supply remains sufficient so far, with most banks operating normally, Nanfang Daily reported.

Guangzhou's public security bureau claimed in the statement that company operations have recovered and they are prepared to get back to transferring cash.

Hundreds of armored vehicle guards struck for a higher salary in Yulin, Shaanxi province on January 3, causing eight banks in the city to suspend their cash services for more than an hour.