Recently, multiple netizens in Shenzhen posted on Xiaohongshu and Douyin that their companies, in order to comply with the two-day APEC holiday, are requiring employees to use their annual leave to offset the time off. Those who have no annual leave left for this year are being asked to deduct it from their 2027 annual leave. Some in the comment section shared similar arrangements.
On November 10, anti-trafficking volunteer Shangguan Zhengyi posted that two unidentified disabled individuals, who previously worked at a brick kiln, were taken by their boss to Dongliuke Village, Weibo Town, Xinji City, Hebei Province, where they were forced into hard labor for years. He reported the case to the local police (110) in the morning, but was told to call 12345, and 12345 then told him to call the police.
A netizen submission exposes a notice posted on a water dispenser at a factory in Guangzhou, stating that day laborers are not allowed to use the water here, and those caught doing so will be fined.
On November 9, a netizen in Shanghai posted a video claiming that a company punished employees by forcing them to do group squats. Multiple employees were lined up following instructions while a manager supervised from the side.
On November 8, a netizen posted a video on Douyin showing several workers using wooden poles to carry an 1,800-jin elevator main unit for Tenglong Cave on their shoulders, with some of them having gray hair. After the video sparked heated discussion, it was removed by the platform. Netizens left comments questioning why the working people only get to be censored.
Based on surveillance footage, the court of first instance determined that Qin started the altercation and struck Ma's head multiple times, ordering Qin to bear 70% of the civil liability. On November 7, Red Star News reported that the Zhengzhou Intermediate Court rejected Qin's appeal and upheld the original verdict requiring compensation of over 840,000 yuan to the family.
Netizens reported that FAW-Volkswagen has cancelled policy bonuses for 2025 and beyond. These bonuses originally accounted for 30%–40% of the total annual salary package and were included by HR during recruitment. Engineers were informed after working for over 20 months that two years of bonuses would be cancelled, resulting in a loss of over 200,000 yuan. Related discussions have been throttled on Xiaohongshu (RedNote).
On November 6, another employee of Xigao Bus posted that they discovered their medical insurance had been suspended while seeking medical treatment. The company had returned multiple employees to third-party labor agencies without prior notice, leaving the employee and their colleagues unable to work normally, and they are calling for relevant departments to intervene.
On November 6, netizens filmed sanitation workers in Shenzhen, who were participating in city appearance maintenance for the APEC meeting, lacking proper rest and dining facilities. They were seen squatting on the roadside at noon eating cold meals and pickles they brought themselves, and sleeping in green belts at night. Netizens are calling for the improvement of rest stations and hot meal support.
A netizen submitted a report stating that their younger brother, who works at a Luxshare-ICT workshop in Anhui, was kicked by a line leader for being too slow at work and was verbally threatened with physical assault after his shift. The netizen questioned the company's basic respect for its employees.
On the evening of November 4, Longxi Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. in Huicheng District, Huizhou, Guangdong, required employees to collectively shout slogans wishing "General Manager Wei" a happy birthday, conditional on not working overtime that night, which sparked sarcasm from netizens.
On November 4, netizens discovered that a primary school in Taiyuan, Shanxi, issued a recruitment notice seeking 'internship teachers' from the public. The requirements included a full-time bachelor's degree or higher and a teacher qualification certificate, but it explicitly stated there would be no salary and that candidates must cover their own room and board, sparking widespread mockery and criticism from netizens.
On November 4, a Douyin influencer posted a video stating that a friend of over 20 years had passed away at a garment factory in Gaoyou, Jiangsu, due to long-term overwork. Chat logs show the female worker mentioned on November 19, 2025, that she was working overtime until 10 PM every day with no days off on Sundays, once saying, "I will die of sudden cardiac death sooner or later," and had been pressured by the finance department and the factory manager to return to work.
Multiple workers at Jiangyang Cable in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, staged a collective protest after 2,000 yuan was deducted from their wages for both September and October, leaving them with only 2,500 yuan in hand. Workers stated that they even had to pay out of pocket to cover their mortgage payments. [Follow-up · November 2026] Workers at Jiangyang Cable in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, protested against wage deductions. Online chat logs indicate that workers had 2,000 yuan deducted from their pay for two consecutive months (September and October), leaving them with only 2,500 yuan in take-home pay, with no prior consultation with the workers.
After an internal appeal failed, the teaching assistant posted their experience online. Subsequently, their office access was revoked and their employment contract was terminated. The contract stipulated a work week of no more than 40 hours over five days.