Strikes in the Settlement totalled \128 as against 75 in 1936. The number of employees affected and the number of working days lost were 35,630 and 151,556 respectively as compared with 35,748 and 167267 in 1936.
The enterprises affected included 290 silk weaving factories (72 strikes), 20 textile factories, 7 machiner: works, 4 public utility plants, 4 transportation companies, 4 food and drink concerns, 3 printing factories, 2 tobacco factories, 1 rubber factory 1 paper mill, 1 soap factory, 1 building construction company and 8 other establishments.
47 strikes in the Settlement were declared to enforce increase in wages, 15 to obtain improved working conditions and demonstrate opposition to alleged bad treatment of workers, 2 to protest against reduction in working time, 2 to enforce collective agreement 21 to demand engagement or dismissal of workers, 2 to oppose change in the system of work, while the remaining 12 resulted from miseellaneous causes. In addition, 27 strikes were declared for sympathetic causes, In 60 cases the strikers returned to work unconditionally, in 33 they secured minor concessions, in 14 the grievances were adjusted in a manner entirely satisfactory to the employees, while in 21 the settlement was unknown or indeterminate.
The outstanding strike of the year occurred in Chinese owned silk weaving factories, of which some 260 employing approximately 15,000 hands were involved; the Shanghai Electric Construction Company whose 1,700 conductors, drivers and others walked out twice, in February and in April; the China Soap Factory, 2310 Yangiszepoo Road where 650 hands went on strike; the Kung Yih Cotton Mill, 150 Robison Rdad, whose employees numbering 3,000 struck work in February and again in April and May; the Toyoda Cotton Mill, 200 Jessfeld Road where 2,000 hands were affected; and the Union Bre-wary, 130 Ichang Road. In most cases the ' strikers. caused disturbances necessitating police action and arrest of the ringleaders concerned.
During the year 67 persons were arrested for offences arising out of strikes and other labour agitation.
The Sino-Japanese hostilities in August brought the local industrial situation—to a complete standstill, All factories suspended Operations, and although accurate statistics were not available it was estimated that approximately three hundred thousand labourers were thrown out of employment. Many of them left for their native places when they realized there was no prospect of immediate resumption of work. Towards the end of August, however, a few Chinese mills in the Western district resumed operations thereby giving employment to some 9,000 hands. The situation gradually improved until the end of the year when 81 factories with a total of 27,300 hands were operating in the Settlement.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.