A customer shops at Wal-Mart's Zhaohui store in Hangzhou on Tuesday. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer by revenue, decided to shut down more than 20 outlets in China this year. LI ZHENYU/CHINA DAILY

"The day they announced the closure, employees from other cities arrived at the supermarket to replace our workers. It was humiliating and discriminatory," said Huang, whom employees elected as the trade union chairman in 2013.

He said the union has asked city authorities for formal arbitration to seek workers' rights in terms of collective negotiation, higher compensation for the mass layoffs, and pay for time not worked during the dispute.

"We ask Wal-Mart to double the existing compensation, but that is negotiable if the company is willing to resume dialogue," he said. "However, the company is busy removing its assets and has refused dialogue since late March."

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Huang said Wal-Mart's tough stance was backed by inappropriate intervention from the local government.

He said the district's labor department provided written material to recognize that Wal-Mart closed its store in Changde legally, and police arrested several workers who took part in peaceful protests on March 21.

A labor inspection official surnamed Tan from Changde's Wuling district, who has been working as a mediator in the case, said the situation is "complicated" and urged workers to resort to legal channels to defend their rights.

Zhang, the media director from Wal-Mart China, defended the company's moves.

"Personally, I feel sympathetic toward these workers and understand their requirement for higher compensation, but our company has to handle that in accordance with the law," she said.

But Chang Kai, head of the School of Labor and Human Resources at Renmin University of China who participated in the legislation work for the Labor Contract Law from 2006 to 2008, believes Wal-Mart lacks legal justification for its behavior.

"The Changde outlet is just a branch of Wal-Mart, so it can't terminate employees' contracts under the name of disbanding the enterprise," he said. Under Chinese law, the company needs to provide an official resolution from a shareholders meeting to legitimize its decision to end its contracts with employees.

"What Wal-Mart did is actually a mass layoff, which requires the employer to inform workers one month in advance and listen to the trade union's suggestion for staff reallocation, which Wal-Mart has failed to do," he said.

Chang also said the trade union of Changde's Wal-Mart seeking better treatment for workers is significant, as it will set an example for similar cases in the future.

Wang Zhuoqiong contributed to this story.