Mediation underway in Guangzhou Citizen watch labor dispute

Workers wait outside the office building of Japanese watch maker Citizen in Guangzhou, Feb 5, 2015. [Photo/thepaper.cn]

The labor department and trade unions in Guangzhou's Huadu district are actively mediating a labor dispute after a well-known Japanese company suddenly dismissed more than 1,000 workers there, Guangzhou Evening News reported.

A public relations executive from Japanese watch maker Citizen said the company suddenly dismissed workers last Thursday because they did not want their normal operations to be affected during its last month.

"But the company told the local labor department it would shut down the company a month in advance," the PR executive said in a statement to local media on Sunday.

The statement did not reveal why Citizen shut down.

The company will pay workers a month's salary as compensation, according to relevant laws and regulations, it said.

The Huadu Labor Department confirmed Citizen had informed them and local trade unions a month ago that they planned to shut down the company, but did not tell affected workers. Now the department is mediating the dispute.

Mediating workers' compensation after they are dismissed.

The labor department will protect workers' legal rights and interests, according to a statement from the department on Sunday.

Wang Songjiang, a local labor expert, said Citizen violated relevant labor laws and regulations and rules when it suddenly dismissed the workers, despite informing the labor department in advance.

"The employers have to inform their employees at least one month in advance, as well when they want to dismiss them, or they will have broken the laws and regulations," he said.