Hundreds of disgruntled workers at an injection molding factory in South China decided to go green with their protest against their employer's severance packages. Their act caught the attention of the public and local authorities.

Last week, more than 300 employees of Meiyang Injection Molding Co. Ltd of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, went to pick up litter in a local beach park. Dressed in their uniforms, they were holding flags with the message: "Abandoned workers doing volunteer work," reported by the local newspaper.

Back in March, Meiyang moved to a new location and changed its name. The Japanese-owned company then asked its employees to sign new contracts. More than 600 employees thought the terms were unfair and decided to resign. But the workers found the severance package unacceptable.

Workforce authorities in Shenzhen are now trying to help sort things out between the workers and the company.