DONGGUAN, Guangdong -- A massive strike over a social benefits dispute entered a fifth day on Friday at a footwear factory in south China's Guangdong Province.

Thousands of workers at Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Ltd, a Dongguan-based footwear maker for major brands including Nike, Adidas and Timberland, began storming out of the main plant and walking along a nearby arterial road around 8:50 am.

Police rushed to the front of the parade, urging them to leave and return to the plant.

Dozens of workers were then taken away by police, but no clashes broke out nor were any people injured.

Police have blocked some road section, and most of the workers have returned to the premises of the factory, where there is a staff of about 45,000.

Production at the plant remains halted.

The protests began on April 5, when a few hundred workers from the plant took to the streets demanding that their social insurance and housing funds be fully paid.

After failed negotiations with management, more workers have joined what has become a massive strike since Monday.

On Thursday, the factory management promised to catch up on all the social benefits in arrears, but the workers have remained skeptical and refused to return to work.