Unpaid Chinese steelworkers clash with police

More than a thousand steelworkers in China demanding to be paid have clashed with police in the north-eastern city of Liaoyang.

A Hong Kong-based human rights group the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy says three people were arrested on Monday during a protest by workers some of them retired or laid-off who were demanding pensions and wages.

Factory officials say about one thousand workers joined the protest but confirmed that around two thousand staff had not been paid for up to sixteen months.

Police have denied reports that some workers were injured when they broke up the demonstration. The industrial north east of China has been hit by job losses as inefficient state enterprises are re-structured to face the competition expected when China joins the World Trade Organisation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service