On Tuesday, a Chinese court ruled that 12 hospital security guard who staged a labor protest last year were ?disturbing social order?. The labor protest stemmed from a labor dispute between Guangzhou Chinese Medicine University Hospital and more than 100 hospital workers over working conditions and pay. The guards were excluded from a deal that the hospital reached with the other workers, at which point the guards threatened to jump off the top of the hospital building, but were reached by police before they could. The court?s sentenced the guards lightly which experts say may be a move on the government?s part to rule based on existing philosophy and precedent while also not aggravating workers who are pushing ever harder for their rights in the workplace. Many of the guards legal representatives have said that they will appeal the decision.
See "China convicts hospital workers after high-profile labor protest", John Ruwitch, Reuters, April 15, 2014