No medal for the Olympics

Monday, 02 July 2007 00:00

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Detailed research undertaken inside China by Playfair 08 – represented in the UK by the TUC and Labour Behind the Label - into working conditions in four factories making 2008 Olympic bags, headgear, stationery and other products reveals that factory owners are falsifying employment records, and forcing workers to lie about their wages and conditions.

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Summary of report findings

The Le Kit Stationery Co Ltd in Guangdong, which is producing stationery for the 2008 Olympics, was employing more than 20 children, the youngest just 12 years old. These youngsters had been hired during the school holidays and were working from around 7.30am until 10.30pm, doing the same jobs as adults. Forced overtime, harsh fines, the punishment of workers, and wages less than half the legal minimum were amongst the violations uncovered in the factory, which does not give its 400 employees any contract of employment.

The Yue Wong Cheong company's operations in Shenzen is producing some 50 different items under licence for the 2008 Olympics. It regularly pays its workers less than 50% of the Chinese minimum wage, and requires them to work 13 hours per day with few, if any, days off a month. Many workers complained about poor health and safety, including fire hazards, skin problems from chemicals and respiratory problems from dust. Fake salary slips are used to dupe outside inspectors sent by the company's clients to check wages and conditions.

Mainland Headwear Holdings Ltd employs some 3,000 workers at its Shenzen factory, paying them as little as 45% of the minimum wage and forcing them to work overtime far in excess of the legal limit. Workers who resign are "fined" one month's wages by the company, while the whole workforce is given instructions on how to lie to outside inspectors about wages and conditions. Any worker who tells the truth faces instant dismissal, while those who follow the factory's "answer guidelines" are given a financial reward.

Eagle Leather Products is a Hong Kong owned company based in Guangdong with a workforce of around 200. Most workers producing the company's Olympics-branded bags are made to work 30 days per month, with forced overtime meaning that total working hours a month can be in excess of 300 hours. While workers say that wage levels are satisfactory, excessive fines, punishments and arbitrary rules, make life extremely difficult.