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The Labours of Mr Zhang: The Party is over for China's working class. In the boom-and-bust economy, it was the poor who lost out. Now unemployed and angry, millions of once-loyal Communist supporters are taking on Beijing. In 21st century China, the assurance of a job with cradle to grave care at a state-owned enterprise is a distant memory. Ghost cities built on debt lie empty. Unemployment is rife - and so is dissent. Mr Yao was a coal miner for 33 years, but was made redundant. Abandoned to the vagaries of the capitalist labour market, “the bosses exploit us", he complains. "It’s like the slave system...Why is the government so corrupt?” A former shoe factory worker and self-taught lawyer, Zhang Ziru, has helped organise some of China’s biggest strikes. It's a dangerous job; under constant police surveillance, Ziru has lost count of how many times he has been arrested. Yet with nearly 3000 strikes across China in 2015 and more job losses and wage cuts likely among the struggling working class, Ziru is committed to his cause. “Even if I’m falsely accused of disrupting social order, it’s just a matter of a three to five year jail sentence. I can accept that.” For similar stories, see: Exposing The Changing Face Of Superpower China https://youtu.be/JswfjZ7KZ-0 What Limits On Freedom Remain In China? https://youtu.be/XUisxlofUxk America's Greatest Weapon Against China https://youtu.be/TWSoExGnY1g Subscribe to journeyman for daily uploads: http://www.youtube.com/journeymanpictures For downloads and more information visit: https://www.journeyman.tv/film/6859/the-labours-of-mr-zhang Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/journeymanpictures Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JourneymanVOD https://twitter.com/JourneymanNews Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/journeymanpictures ABC Australia – Ref. 6859 Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world's most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world's top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you'll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.