China’s millions of migrant workers are bearing the brunt of the country’s ongoing economic slowdown as strikes and worker protests reach record levels, new statistics reveal, CNN reported. According to the most recent annual report from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, more than 2.7 million migrant workers—around 1% of the total—weren’t paid on time last year, the highest number in five years. In the same period, China saw more than 2,700 strikes and protests, more than double the number the year before, according to China Labor Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based rights monitor.
