15/06/2026
People can clearly feel the nervousness of the four young people sitting on the panel on the Labor Notes conference. Three women and one man. One woman is wearing a veil and a mask. Above them is a sign with the text: no photography - no video recordings. Before the meeting starts, the young guy takes the floor and explains that only registered participants in the conference are allowed to attend the meeting, and that you are not allowed to identify other participants in the meeting, as several of those sitting in the audience are either from China or are going to China in the near future. When the panelists introduce themselves, it turns out that one of them is an interpreter, she has a mobile phone, with a connection to a group of Chinese organizers inside China. She says that 44% of workers in China are platform workers, just like the Wolt riders in Denmark. The interpreter says that most of them are employed through intermediaries, which means that it is almost impossible to find the employer if there is an accident at work or the salary is not paid. The organizers from China also say that they live in constant danger of being discovered and put in prison or a reeducation camp. The man who opened the meeting explained that his organizing group was caught when they managed to organize a strike. After the prison sentence, he fled to the United States. Then someone from the audience asks, how can we help? The answer from the Chinese organizers is: “Chinese media do not report on strikes in China, but they always report on strikes abroad, so when you fight, we see you and get the hope and courage to continue.”
