What happens when universally hated workers protest? The authorities are anyway rarely sympathetic, but they get no sympathy from the public either. Last week, family planning workers of Hubei province demonstrated on the steps of their bureau holding placards that said, "We fulfilled central policy, give us the treatment we deserve. We're family planning troops [sic], give us back our dignity.''

These workers had started off as permanent government employees, considered a prized position, but were made contract workers 10 years ago. This year, the one-child norm was relaxed in favour of a two-child norm, so the future for them is uncertain.

Till now, these workers were at the forefront of implementing the government's strict one-child policy, hunting down those who dared to have a second child without permission. (Certain categories of couples, for example, minorities, and those whose first born was a girl, were exempt from this policy.) Such erring couples had to pay a hefty fine, and the second child would be deprived of social security benefits. This itself acted as a deterrent, even for many middle-class parents known to this diarist who wanted their first-born to enjoy the joys of having a sibling the way they had. Another friend, who could afford to pay the fine, opted to have her second delivery in Hong Kong where no such policy operates. Her child got Hong Kong citizenship.

But for these over-zealous workers, the fine wasn't punishment enough. Backed by provincial officials, these workers would insist that the second foetus be aborted and the mother sterilized. Nothing came in the way of their zeal. In 2012, a woman had to undergo an induced miscarriage in the seventh month of her pregnancy because she hadn't paid the fine. Next year, in Hubei itself, a middle-aged mother of two died thanks to their insistence on getting her sterilized. The 42-year-old had gynaecological problems, and doctors had warned her not to opt for sterilization.

Fall from grace

The family planning workers were informed of this by her husband. But they were desperate to wipe out the negative rating they'd receive from provincial officials for not cracking down on errant couples. They first tried winning over the parents by promising them a hukou (permanent identity card that guarantees social security benefits) for their second child, which is normally not given. They also promised the mother a 2,000-yuan 'compensation' for the sterilization. When neither inducement worked, they threatened legal action.

The woman bled to death three hours after the operation. But here's what the local government PRO had to say: this was no forced sterilization - the patient had signed the papers herself. The death was an accident. "If you trip and fall when you are walking, does it mean you have to blame the people who built the roads?'' Yet, the authorities offered the husband one million yuan in compensation on the condition that he would not sue them. He wasn't interested.

Given this background, it was hardly surprising that social media was full of fury when these workers demonstrated. One of the workers posted this online: "I came to this battlefront at the age of 18. Back then, we were mobilized to take on this most difficult of work, and family planning cadres were highly regarded and dearly loved... Family planning is still basic national policy. It's hard for the family planning troops to make a living. Reforms were originally intended to make our work more efficient... and better serve the people.'' He got instant replies on social media. "I also want to serve the people," said one. "I'd take these people and plan their deaths, one by one." Wrote another: "Kill yourselves and make an even greater contribution to family planning."