Chinese golf-equipment workers strike for benefits and union representation,
Summary
On 21 July 2014, more than 2,000 workers at the China Qilitian Golf Articles (QLT) factory in Shenzhen, which produced golf balls and clubs for Nike, Callaway, Bridgestone, Ping, Cobra, and Titleist, struck for payment of social-insurance and housing-fund contributions, high-temperature subsidies, living wages during the low-production season, and factory trade-union elections. [source: nv-database] A worker-elected 13-member committee led by Ji Jiansheng negotiated with management, and the company met or compromised on all demands and agreed to monthly meetings with the democratically elected workers’ committee. [source: nv-database] The QLT strike was one of 1,378 labor protests recorded in China in 2014, twice the 2013 figure, with the April 2014 Yue Yuan Industrial Holdings strike cited as a key influence. [source: nv-database]
Tactics used
Tactics used
Background
As of 2014, about 168 million rural migrant workers travelled annually to China’s cities; the average age of the migrant workforce had increased, and strikes had shifted focus from wage increases to pensions, healthcare, and unemployment insurance. [source: nv-database] As of 2013, only one in six migrant workers had a pension, and since migrant workers retained very little savings, the lack of pensions had become a crisis for aging workers. [source: nv-database] The government allowed strikes only in accordance with the government-sanctioned All China Federation Trade Unions (ACFTU), but workers were increasingly electing their own committees. [source: nv-database]
What happened
Qi Jianguang, a 26-year-old worker who had been at QLT for eight years, and other workers discovered that the company had neglected to make social-security contributions — a common lapse often ignored by officials. [source: nv-database] They also discovered that the company had set up a new production line in Jiangxi province to obtain cheaper labour, had begun cutting orders at the Shenzhen factory, and was relocating machinery; workers feared the factory might close. [source: nv-database] In June 2014, QLT workers elected their own 13-representative committee led by 42-year-old Ji Jiansheng to advocate for their rights. [source: nv-database] On 21 July 2014, the QLT workers went on strike, carrying banners in a nearby park; they took pictures with iPhones and news of the strike spread rapidly, and police briefly detained Qi Jianguang but released him later that day. [source: nv-database] The April 2014 two-week strike at Yue Yuan Industrial Holdings — one of the world’s largest shoe producers, which had yielded on cost-of-living allowances and pension benefits — was cited as the key inspiration. [source: nv-database] On 22 July 2014, QLT threatened workers and posted notices ordering them back to work; Ji Jiansheng said the workers had the right to strike and have their lawful grievances addressed. [source: nv-database] The workers stood firm and, following local government intervention, management agreed to negotiate the following day. [source: nv-database] The 13-member committee reported that both parties were willing to negotiate, and the company met or compromised on all the workers’ demands; management also agreed to hold monthly meetings with the democratically elected workers’ committee to discuss any unresolved issues. [source: nv-database] Workers celebrated their victory with a feast, and the public lauded the willingness of workers and management to sit down face to face. [source: nv-database] Several months later, the company fired Qi Jianguang, accusing him of tarnishing the company’s reputation by participating in an illegal strike. [source: nv-database] The Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin recorded 1,378 instances of construction-worker, miner, teacher, truck-driver, and factory-worker strikes and protests in 2014, twice the 2013 figure. [source: nv-database]
Key people & organizations
- Ji Jiansheng (42-year-old worker, leader of the 13-member elected committee)
- Qi Jianguang (26-year-old worker, briefly detained, later fired for “tarnishing reputation”)
- QLT factory workers (more than 2,000 strikers)
- QLT management (opponent, then concessor)
- Yue Yuan Industrial Holdings workers (April 2014 strike inspiration)
- China Labour Bulletin (Hong Kong-based, recorded 1,378 strikes in 2014)
- Local Shenzhen government (intervened on workers’ behalf)
Outcome
Verdict: won.
The company met or compromised on all the workers’ demands and agreed to hold monthly meetings with the democratically elected workers’ committee. [source: nv-database] Per the source’s scoring rubric, the campaign scored 6 out of 6 points on achieving specific demands/goals, 1 out of 1 on survival, and 3 out of 3 on growth (10 out of 10 total). [source: nv-database] However, the company later fired Qi Jianguang, one of the strike leaders, for “tarnishing the company’s reputation.” [source: nv-database] The success of the QLT strike contributed to a doubling of recorded Chinese labor strikes between 2013 and 2014. [source: nv-database]
Lessons
- A prior victory in a similar industry (Yue Yuan, April 2014) is a powerful and immediate tactical asset: it lowers the perceived risk of striking and provides a concrete list of “achievable” demands.
- Worker-elected committees that operate outside the official ACFTU union can win real concessions, but individual committee members remain vulnerable to post-strike retaliation.
- Sharing strike news via iPhone photos and Weibo accelerates cross-factory tactical diffusion; the 2014 wave was, in part, an effect of the previous month’s Yue Yuan success going viral.
Sources
- Global Nonviolent Action Database —
[[nv-database]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
nv-database— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Rewritten: 2026-07-04 via
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