Legal experts have called for better protection of sanitation workers' rights after a number of them went on strike over low wages in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province.

Xie Linglin, a lawyer with the Guangzhou-based ETR Law Firm, attributed the strike to a lack of social responsibility from sanitation companies and less investment from government authorities.

"Like many labor disputes, the rising number of strikes where workers are demanding a pay rise is because companies did not fulfill their social responsibility and government authorities have not had proper measures in place to protect workers' rights," Xie said.