Report
on the Working Conditions of Soccer and Football Workers in Mainland China
Hong
Kong Christian Industrial Committee
Revised
Version May 2002
This is a revised
version of HKCIC’s report (first released in April 2002) on the Working
Conditions of Soccer and Football Workers in Mainland China. Four points are noted in this version.
i)
Adidas as named in the April report for being
the client to Guangzhou Tai Yang
Sports Good Co. Ltd is to be confirmed.
ii)
The sewing process of soccer ball making in Guan
Ho Sporting Good Ltd includes both machine sewing and hand sewing. Hand sewing takes place at the last stage
when workers sew-assemble the leather parts into a soccer ball by hand. This is to clarify misunderstanding as the
sewing process reported here is different from South Asian countries in which
the whole soccer ball is hand sewn.
iii)
All the individuals named in this report are
represented by pseudo names so as to protect the interviewees.
iv)
The exchange rate used in this report is taken
as USD1 = RMB7.8.
(Overview of football
manufacturing in China)
The following report is
based on a preliminary research done by the HKCIC from February to March 2002,
on the working conditions of soccer/football workers in Guangdong province of
mainland China. Workers from three foreign invested soccer/football factories
were interviewed to give a snapshot of their living and working
conditions. The three operations are
run by Taiwanese and Hong Kong capital, manufacturing mainly for exports to
famous brand names such as PUMA, WILSON, UMBRO and DIADORA. Two of them have been supplying to ADIDAS,
which is the major World Cup sponsor.
The three supplier
factories covered in this report are all located in Guangdong province of
southern China. Two of them are Taiwan
capital and the other is Hong Kong owned.
Various forms of labor rights violations are found. Below is a table summarizing the major
violations.
|
|
Guan Ho |
Cheong Yip |
Tai Yang |
|
Capital |
Taiwan |
Hong Kong |
Taiwan |
|
Location |
Dongguan City |
Dongguan City |
Gaungzhou |
|
Brand names |
Wilson, Adidas,
Amdame |
Umbro, Diadora,
Lotto, Amdame |
Wilson, Puma, Conti |
|
Products |
Soccer ball,
football, basket ball |
Soccer ball,
football, basketball, gloves and accessories |
Soccer ball |
|
Average number of
working hours for production workers in the peak season |
From 11 to15
hours. Latest: 26:00 - 27:00. |
13 – 14 hours. Latest: 23:00 – 24:00. |
11 hours. Latest: 24:00. |
|
Average salary for a
production line worker in the low season |
RMB300 – 400. |
RMB300 – 400. |
RMB 300 plus. |
|
Average salary for a
production line worker in the high season (before deductions of food and lodgings) |
RMB600 – 1000
plus. Maximum RMB1400 plus. |
RMB800 – 900. |
RMB 600 – 700. |
|
Legal minimum wage at
the host town/city |
RMB450 |
RMB450 |
RMB450 |
|
Piece rate
calculation |
a) RMB0.7 / soccer ball size 5; 7-80
pieces/person a day. b) RMB0.3 / soccer ball size 4; 100 pieces/person a day. c) RMB0.03 / non-game ball; 300 pieces/person a
day. |
Not clear. |
RMB24 / day
regardless of the number of OT hours, has to finish the set daily quota. |
|
Food and lodging
deductions |
RMB165 |
RMB60-70 |
Not clear. |
|
Major problems
identified |
a) Serious safety and health hazards. b) Long working hours and exhaustion. c) Down payment, pay delay. |
a) Safety and health hazards. b) Long working hours and exhaustion. c) Low wages d) Arbitrary penalties. |
a) Restriction on personal freedom. b) Low wages. c) Safety and health problems. d) Long working hours and exhaustion. |
The findings reveal a
minimal labor protection for soccer/football workers in mainland China. It was found that there were wage
violations, long working hours reaching 13 hours a day, bad living conditions,
lacking social security provisions and even restriction on personal freedom in
the three operations. Unique to the
production of soccer that is used in international soccer competition, a lot of
the manufacturing processes require high labor intensity and hand sewing. Chemicals and intensive heat are used in
processing genuine leather and yet workers were not equipped with appropriate safety
and health protection resulting in workers being exposed to a number of
industrial and health hazards.
Mechanical injuries are commonly found in the cutting department. Heat poisoning and burning is found in the
pressing department. Exposure to
chemicals is found in the stamping department whereas serious cutting and
ergonomical problems are major hazards found in the stitching and sewing
department. Safety and health hazards
particular to the manufacturing of soccer/football are not addressed properly
in these foreign invested factories that supply to world-famous soccer/football
brand name companies.
The manufacturing
process of soccer can be broken down to up to 50 or more stages. Some of the key manufacturing processes
include: leather cutting, leather pressing and steaming, printing, sewing
(include machine sewing, stitching and hand-sewing), bladder inserting, lacing,
quality control and packaging. The
quality of soccer/football that supplies to western brand name companies for
international competition is strictly controlled. A game soccer/football may have to pass through 10 quality
inspections before finishing. Hand-sewn
soccer/football is regarded as of the best quality, thus quality control over
hand-sewing and stitching workers is the strictest. Workers must have agile fingers, strong wrists and arms, plus
accurate and sophisticated stitching and sewing skills. Otherwise they cannot even earn the
USD0.03-0.04 rate for each soccer/football they sew. During the busy months, they have bend their heads sewing and
sewing up to 11 hours a day while earning even less than USD50, that is what a
soccer/football costs on the shelf.
Similar to their fellow
workers in other labor intensive industries in Guangdong province of China,
most of the soccer/football workers laboring in this corner of the world are
migrant workers from various inland provinces.
Similar to their fellow workers, the rights of soccer/football workers
have not got improved by the various codes of conduct devised by brand name
soccer companies. The factories covered
in this report are supplying to ADIDAS, PUMA, WILSON, UMBRO and DIADORA and all
of them have their own codes of conduct.
Another code regulating workers’ rights in the production of
soccer/football in particular is endorsed by the FIFA - Federation Internationale
de Football Association in 1998. Yet as
in other labor intensive industries being sub-contracted to third-world
countries for production, haphazard and problematic implementation,
particularly in the China context, undermine their original intentions.
Since the major part of
soccer production is found in Fujian and Jiangsu province, only a limited
number of factories manufacturing game soccer/football is found in Guangdong
province. The following report covers three
soccer/football factories and offers perhaps only a glimpse of the conditions
of soccer workers in Guangdong province.
Yet, being the first report on soccer production in China, it may
represent some of the common problems, especially regarding safety and health
of soccer production in China.
(I)
Guan Ho Sporting Goods Limited
Factory location:
LongYan District, Humen Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong province
Ownership of capital:
Taiwan
Products: Soccer,
Football, basketball and accessories
Major clients: Adidas,
Wilson, Amdame
1.
General working conditions
1.1
Recruitment
The factory
recruits workers on a regular basis. No
contract is signed with workers. New
recruits pay RMB50 (USD6.4) for uniform fee.
They will be reimbursed a month later.
But they have to pay RMB200 (USD25.6) by installments as
down-payment. They are supposed to get
back the down-payment when they quit the job.
But demanding workers pay down-payment is already a violation of the
Chinese labor law.
1.2
Working hours
A small number of departments such as the pressing and
stamping department, have two 8-hour shifts (from 06:30 to 18:30; and from
18:30 to 06:30) a day. There is a
one-hour lunch break and workers from these two departments work 11 to 11.5
hours. This is a clear violation of the
Chinese Labor Law on working hours. On
busy days, workers only have a 30-minute lunch break. For workers in other departments such as the cutting, stitching,
hand sewing, quality control and packaging department, they work from 07:00 to
23:00. They have two lunch breaks of
one hour each, but during the peak season the lunch break will be compressed to
half an hour only. In general these
workers work up to14 to 15 hours a day.
Long working hours is an obnoxious issue. To finish a batch of order during the peak season, workers in
some departments such as the sewing and packaging department, may have to stay
up to work till 26:00 or 27:00, ie working continuously for 20 to 21
hours. No day off is given for the
whole month during the peak season.
Chapter IV of
the Chinese Labor Law provides clear statements on working hours, rest and
vacations. The number of working hours
should be no more than 40 a week, whereas the number of overtime hours not more
than 3 a day. There should at least be
one rest day per week and workers are entitled to have paid statutory holidays.
1.3
Wages
Production workers are paid by piece rate and
non-production workers such as quality control and supervisors etc, are paid by
time rate. The wage level varies
between different departments. Time
rate workers such as quality controllers, receive a daily rate of RMB20
(USD2.56) and have no overtime compensation or allowance. New recruits are also paid by time rate and
they receive a daily wage of RMB20 (USD2.56).
No overtime compensation is paid.
They will be shifted to be piece-rate workers after two weeks’
probation.
The monthly wages of piece-rate workers vary according to
the department, the skills level, the task difficulty, the price level of the
product as well as the size of the order etc.
Take a sewing worker as an example.
The unit price of the product he or she produces is set and depending on
the number of balls made, the average income ranges from RMB300 (low season) to
RMB1000 - 1400 (almost the maximum wage level attained when counted by piece
rate in high season). Counting by piece
rate, there is no overtime compensation.
There is a daily production quota which is set so high especially during
the busy seasons that workers have to work very fast to finish the quota. Or they will be reprimaded by the
supervisors and work till they finish the quota without any compensation. For production line workers, there is a
30-day delay in delivering their wages which means a virtual detention of a
month’s wages.
The legal
minimum wage in Dongguan city (year 2002) is RMB450 (USD57.69) a month. The employing unit should pay 150% of the
normal rate as overtime compensation during week days, 200% on Saturday or
Sunday, and 300% on statutory holidays.
First, workers at Guan Ho do not get the minimum wage(RMB450)
during the low season. Second, the unit
price is set so low (RMB0.7 for a standard size game soccer ball, RMB0.09 for a
small ball) that workers must produce as quickly and as many as possible. Paying by piece rate avoids the question of
overtime compensation and provides the best motivation for workers to produce
as “efficiently” as possible. The high
salary a production line worker gets in the peak season (ie RMB1400) is hardly
earned by laboring hard and quick for more than 15 hours, making 70 to 300
soccer balls a day. The price for
earning RMB1400 is a pair of deformed hands as revealed in the cases of the
interviewed young female workers from the sewing department.
1.4
Living conditions
Food and lodgings used to be provided by the factory. Starting from 1 February 2002, workers pay
for from their own purse. RMB165
(USD21.15) is deducted from the monthly pay as living expenses which means a
reduction in their real income.
Depending on the production season and the size of the work force, the
number of people sharing a room in the dormitory ranges from ten to
twenty. Dormitory rooms are furnished
with washing facilities, toilets and fans.
Yet the interviewed workers complained that there were too many people
staying in a room, especially during the peak season. Entertainment facilities such as a basketball court and a
facility room are provided in the factory complex. But workers said they barely had time and mood to enjoy these
facilities as the number of working hours was too long.
1.5
Penalty
Imposing penalties can be quite arbitrary. Cases were reported that workers were fined
for RMB50 to 100 (USD6.4 to 12.8) for being late or absent from work. That costs about at least 7% and at most
one-third of their average monthly pay (that ranges from RMB300 to 1400 in
general).
1.6
Workers’ welfare
There is a factory clinic that provides free diagnosis and
medicine to workers.
Regarding social insurance, only workers who have served
for at least three years are entitled to social security provisions. This may constitute a discrimination of
junior workers. Such a practice can be abused as the terms of service is misleading
since workers that are told to “take vacation” in low season, or workers that
have gone back home for the New Year might be counted as “new” workers. They start anew every year and thus are not
entitled to the legal provision of social security.
1.7
Labor disputes and industrial actions
An industrial action was reported in February 2002. The incident started with the management
pressing down the wages of a number of senior production line workers. They got around RMB2000 (USD250.6) for their
January salary and the management considered that “too high”. The management then lowered the unit price
in an attempt to lower the take-home pay.
The act outraged the workers and around 200 to 300 senior production
line workers striked to protest the unreasonable wage reduction. February 2002 was a peak season for the
factory and the management conceded by paying workers the original unit price. Yet the management retaliated by firing one
of the strike leaders from Henan province and threatened not to recruit workers
from Henan province.
Article 46, Chapter V of the Chinese Labor Law states that, “The
distribution of wages shall follow the principle of distribution according to
work and equal pay for equal work.”
Although piece rate workers are paid according to the amount of products they finish, in reality, there is always an income ceiling which is flexible and unknown to workers.
1.8
Industrial accidents
Industrial accidents are frequently reported in the cutting
department. New recruits who have not
received any safety and health training are particularly vulnerable to
accidents. The cutting job is performed
by two workers with the first worker fixes the leather in place and the other
presses the button. The two must
concentrate and work in good coordination.
Cases of workers having their fingers pressed by machines were reported
in this department since the beginning of year 2002. The factory would pay for the medical expenses and the injured
workers could take paid sick leave. But
no injury rating was done and no compensation was given to the injured
workers. Workers in general would
misleadingly put the blame on their own carelessness. Seldom would they question the safety of the machines or the
responsibility of the management.
Article 54 of Chapter VI of the Chinese
Labor Law states that, “The employing unit must provide labourers with
occupational safety and health conditions conforming to the provisions of the
State and necessary articles of labour protection, and provide regular health
examination for labourers engaged in work with occupational hazards.”
Workers injured in industrial accidents should receive medical
treatment, an injury rating, and compensation according to the law.
2.
Safety and health conditions in different
departments
2.1
Stitching department
Wages for sewing workers are paid in piece rate. Workers get RMB0.7 (USD0.009) for sewing a
standard size (size number 5) soccer ball.
A skilled worker laboring continuously for 11 hours a day can finish up
to seventy to eighty soccer of this size meaning earning a daily salary of
RMB49 to RMB56 (USD6.28 to 7.18).
Whereas RMB0.3-0.4 (USD0.38 to 0.5) is paid per piece to workers that sew
size number 4 soccer ball. To produce
that, a skilled worker that labor 11 hours a day can produce about 100 pieces a
day. Sewing workers have to perform 4
tasks: sewing, lacing, bladder inserting and finishing. Their wages range from RMB300 (USD38.46) in
the low season to a maximum of RMB1400 (USD179.48) in the peak season. They normally work 11 plus hours a day with
no day off in the whole month. Three
female interviewed workers told us how hard a job it was to sew a soccer. The sewing process includes machine sewing
and hand sewing. Leather pieces are
sewn up together by machines. At the
last stage, workers sew up the whole ball by hands. Stitching by hand is a delicate task and they cannot wear
protective gloves. Yet it also requires
a lot of finger strength to press and pierce the leather and workers complained
that their hands were deformed as they constantly pressed the hard
leather. From time to time the needle
would get into their fingers and it was extra painful to sew and press the leather
with injured fingers. The interviewers
could observe during the short conversation that their fingers were dry, their
skin cracked and their hands were crisscrossed with deep lines. The roughness of the hands of these young
female workers offered a stark contrast to the innocent look on their
faces. Their fingernails were broken
and all their fingers were bandaged.
They had to work in high concentration as the quality control for hand
sewn soccer was very strict. Any
mistakes found would cost them a penalty of RMB10 (USD1.28) or above.
2.2
Stamping department
Workers from the stamping department work in two shifts of
11 hours a day. The average pay in this
department ranges from RMB600 – 1000 (USD76.9 to 128.2). Workers print the logo on the leather for
sewing and assembly. Most of the
workers are male and it is not difficult to tell from the dirt on their faces
and their uniforms which department they are working in. The factory provides them with a top wear as
uniform, but no uniform pants are provided.
This is probably because stamping would dirty workers’ pants and they
have to change their pants almost everyday.
The interviewed male workers joked that they had no clean pants that
would not shame them in front of others.
Cotton gloves and masks were delivered to them but they seldom wore them
because of discomfort and inconvenience.
The main reason is that wearing gloves would slow down the pace of work
and miss the daily production quota.
2.3
Pressing department
Leather is steamed under high temperature in the pressing
department to give an appropriate degree of tenderness for further
processing. The temperature in the
pressing department is very high and the leather would give a strong chemical
smell under high heat. Workers from
this department would get a high temperature allowance and their wage level is
higher than workers in other department.
Conditions in winter time is slightly more tolerable whereas in summer,
the work place gets so hot and the leather smell so strong that workers are
sweating all day and they have no appetite for anything when they are off work.
3.
Voices of Workers
Ø
Extract from a
conversation between two female production line workers:
A: “I’m quitting
the job.”
B: “Did you get
back the RMB200 down-payment?”
A: “Yes, I did.”
B: “That’s
good. I don’t want to stay any longer,
it’s so exhausting. But I cannot jump
cos’ I don’t have another factory to go to.
I wonder if they are going to deliver last month’s salary today. If I have the money (meaning her salary) in
my pocket, I won’t rush. I’ll work
slowly. For what? But if I quit the job later this month, not
sure if I can get this month’s salary back.
Anyway, I don’t care. We have
only half an hour for dinner today and OT straight after that. Hmm, there are so many balls piling up on
the line…. so frustrating.”
A: “Right, who
cares? Let’s go to have fun tonight.”
B: “No, I haven’t got last month’s
salary. I don’t want to give them an
excuse to deduct my money. The small
white balls we made last month were easy to make. It’s RMB0.09 (USD0.01) each.
I could make 300 balls a day.
But they deducted RMB165 for living expenses. Anyway, I’ll quit right away when I’ve got last month’s
salary. My fingers ache. It’s awful.
”
Worker B worked at least 11 hours a day
during the peak season. Her salary is
dependent on the kind of balls she is making.
In the above case, she could finish 300 balls a day that costs RMB0.09
each. By estimation, she earns RMB27
(USD3.46) a day or RMB2.45 (USD0.31) an hour.
Even if she worked non-stop making 300 balls a day in11 hours a day and
30 days a month, she would receive RMB810 (USD103.85), less than 2 game soccer
(suppose a Wilson game soccer costs USD40 and an Adidas game soccer costs
USD50) sold in developed countries.
Worker B paid a down payment of
RMB200 when she entered the factory.
That’s why she felt hesitant to quit her job although she felt so
exhausted and wanted to leave. It would
be difficult for her to get back the down payment and her last month’s pay when
she joined a new factory. The factory
also deducted RMB165 for food and lodging, which means she had only around
RMB645 (RMB810 – RMB165) as real take home income.
(II)
Cheong Yip Sports Products Company
Factory location: Su
Keng District, Chung Pin Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong province
Ownership of capital:
Hong Kong
Products: Soccer,
football, basketball, baseball and accessories such as football and baseball
gloves
Export to: US and
Europe
Clients: Umbro,
Diadora, Andame and Lotto etc.
1.
Company information
Cheong Yip has two plants producing in Dongguan City. Plant one produces baseball and baseball
gloves whereas plant two produces soccer/football and basketball. The two plants have around 1,000 workers
each. Both men and women workers come
from different inland provinces in China.
The majority of production line workers age between 20 to 25 years old.
2.
General working conditions
2.1
Wages
Non-production workers such as supervisors and the
managerial staff are paid by time rate.
New recruits are paid by time rate in the first month. They get RMB10 (USD1.28) a day and an
overtime compensation of RMB2 (USD0.26) per hour. The rest of the production line workers are paid by piece
rate. Their monthly pay varies depending
on the department, the size of the order, the kind and unit price of product
and the skill level of workers. No
overtime compensation, bonus or allowance is paid. None of the interviewed workers can explain to the interviewers
how their wages were calculated or how the “unit price” was rated. They had only a rough range of wages paid
for different tasks performed in different departments. A rough matrix of the wages paid in this
factory ranges from RMB300 – 400 during the low season (USD38.4 to 51.2) to RMB
800 to 900 (USD102.56 to 115.38) in the peak season. Supervisor level may have more than RMB1000 (USD128.2) a
month. Only the “senior” production
line workers receive RMB150 (USD19.2) as the year-end bonus.
During the low season that lasts for 4 to 5 months, workers
do not have enough work to do and they do not receive even the legal minimum
wage during the low season period.
There is a 30-day delay in delivering the wages which actually pulls
them back from quitting their job at will especially during the peak season. No pay stuff is given to the workers making
it difficult for them to tell if they are paid the right rate. Workers can only compare their pay amongst
themselves and there is little complaint as long as everybody receives similar
pay.
2.2 Working hours
Production line workers start working from 08:00 to 12:00
and from 14:00 to 18:00 (8 normal working hours). Overtime work starts from 18:00 to 23:00 (5 overtime hours). It depends on the size of order to determine
the length of overtime. In peak season,
it is assumed that workers work approximately 13 hours a day, while six and a
half days a week. They are free only on
Sunday evening. If they have to rush
the lead time, they might have to work even on statutory holidays.
The Chinese Labor Law states that workers should work not more
than 40 hours. The overtime hours
should not exceed 39 per week and 3 per day.
For overtime compensation, workers should receive 150% of the normal
rate for overtime work on normal week day, 200% on Saturday or Sunday, and 300%
on statutory holidays.
Workers from Cheong Yip said the factory management did not explain the remuneration terms to them when they entered the factory. Nor do they receive any pay stuff from the management. Without knowing the unit price of the product they are making, the number of product they are making and various deductions, there is no way for them to tell if they are cheated and how much they are cheated.
Chapter III of the Chinese Labor Law
states clear that the employer should explain and conclude in clear terms in
labor contracts the remuneration, the method of wage calculation, terms of
employment, contents of work, labor protection, working conditions, labor
disciplines, conditions of termination of the contract etc.
2.3
Living
conditions
The factory provides free lodging to the workers. To pay for two meals a day at the canteen,
RMB60 to 70 (USD7.69 to 8.97) will be deducted monthly for food. The interviewed workers complain generally
about the food. Around 14 people share
a room of around 26 to 30 square meters in the dormitory. Some of the interviewed workers complained
that there was no hot water in some dormitories and they had to carry hot water
from other dormitories. The dormitory
does not have couple room for married production line workers.
2.4
Penalty and welfare
RMB 20 to 30 (USD2.56 to 3.85) is charged for being late or
absent from work. Only part of the
workforce, the size of which cannot be confirmed in the interviews, enjoy
selective items of social security provisions (for instance some workers will
have RMB30 or USD3.84 deducted per month for old age insurance). For workers that work in departments that
have more safety and health problems such as the cutting department, they are
covered with medical insurance. For the
rest of the workforce, they do not enjoy any social security provisions.
2.5
Safety and Health conditions
No safety and health training is provided to the
workers. They are just verbally
instructed and reminded by senior workers to be careful during production. Workers from the cutting department are more
liable to industrial injuries as they will cut or even lose their fingers if
anything goes wrong during the operation.
But the interviewed workers do not receive proper safety and health
instructions, nor do they know about their rights and compensation for
industrial accidents. Fire is another
potential hazards as a lot of flammable materials are found at the work place. Despite the provision of fire extinguishers
and fire exits, workers expressed worry about fire safety at the work place.
3
Voices of Workers
Ø
Xiao Nan
Xiao Nan works in the cutting department. She did not recall the factory explaining to
her how her wages was calculated and she did not know the unit price either. The cutting department is operating in 3
shifts a day and the cutting machine is running without stop. Although she does not have much overtime
work and she works 8 hours a day, she feels very tired. She wants to earn as much as possible, at
the same time, she is afraid that her hands would be cut by the running
machine.
Ø
Bing Bing
Workers in the molding department put leather on the
machine more than a hundred times a day.
Your hands will get pressed if you are off your mind. Cases of workers having their fingers cut
were compensated with a few thousand RMB and sent home. And that is their life. Bing Bing wants to be very careful but at
the same time, he wants to earn more.
He finds himself under very stressful conditions at work. His hands are hardened and rough. The lowest salary he has ever got is around
RMB500 – 600 (USD64 to 76.9). Deducting
RMB165 for food and lodgings and sending money home, he has a little more than
RMB200 (USD25.6) left. The highest
income he gets during the peak season is around RMB800 – 900 (USD102.56 –
115.38). That is not much as he has a
daughter going to school and his parents to support at his home village.
Ø
Xiao Fun
“The chemical smell in the silk screening department is
very strong. At first, it was very difficult
to work there. I’ve got used to it
now. Our department is in a rush at the
moment (February 2002) and we work till 11pm every night. We have no day off for more than a month
now. Even though we are working 5 to 6
overtime hours a day, we all get a bit more than RMB800 (USD102.56) a
month. It is more miserable in the low
season. We get RMB300 – 400 (USD38.5 –
51.28) a month. Some of us get as low
as RMB100 (USD12.8)….”
(III)
Guanzhou Taiyang Sports Goods Co. Ltd
Factory location: Shi
Jin Town, Bai Yun District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong province
Ownership of capital:
Taiwan
Products: Soccer
Export to: US and
Europe
Clients: Wilson, Puma,
Conti (local brand name)
1.
Company information
Taiyang Sports Goods is
a Taiwan company registered in Hong Kong.
The company started investment in the mainland in 1993. The production facility in Guangzhou has a
500-600 strong workforce, the majority of whom come from inland provinces such
as Hunan, Hubei, Quizhou. About 70% of
them are women workers.
2.
General working conditions
2.1
Recruitment
No contract is signed with production workers. Once recruited, RMB50 (USD44.87) would be
deducted by installments from workers’ monthly pay over a length of 2
years. The management claimed that they
were helping workers to save money for their own good and the money could be
withdrawn in full when they left the factory.
But if workers quit without following the proper procedures or getting
the approval from the management, they cannot get the money back.
2.2
Working hours
07:00 Morning exercise.
Working hours: 08:00 - 12:00; 13:00 - 17:00. 17:30 - evening exercise.
Overtime work starts from 17:50 - 19:50 or 21:50. Taiyang workers work 8 hours a day, and an
average of 2 to 3 overtime hours a day during the peak season. It happened that workers in some department
worked till 24:00 during the peak season, meaning in this worst case, workers
work 5 overtime hours or 13 hours a day.
During the peak season, workers do not have rest day for a whole month.
Workers staying in the dormitories must get permits to
leave the factory complex on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. On the other days, and for those that have
not acquired the permits, they cannot leave the factory. Workers may take holiday and rest in their
dormitories on Sunday during the slack season.
They normally do not have rest day during the peak season.
2.3
Wages
New recruits are paid at a time rate of RMB13 (USD1.67) a
day. No overtime compensation is
paid. Their wages will be adjusted
after probation. For the majority of
the production line workers, their wages vary depending on the department and
the skill level. In general, wages for
production line are composed of a daily rate of RMB24 (USD2.08) in average a
day and full-attendance allowance of RMB30 (USD3.85) a month.
By paying a standard daily rate of RMB24 for a total of 10 to 11 hours’ work a day, Taiyang is not paying overtime compensation to workers who work an average of 2 to 3 OT hours a day during the peak season. Paying a standard daily rate also means that you will not get more even if you work fast. Yet the factory would set a daily production quota to make sure that workers won’t cheat. Taiyang on the other hand is cheating workers by requiring workers work an average of 3 overtime hours a day and six and half day a week without paying them the legal compensation rate. The Chinese Labor Law states that the total number of working hours should not exceed 40 per week, ie 8 hours on average per day. The Law also requires the employer to pay 150% of the normal rate as overtime compensation on week day and 200% on Saturday and Sunday, while 300% on statutory holidays. Suppose that in the peak season, workers from Taiyang work 10 to 11hours a day and 26 days a month (suppose they at least have one day off during the week), they would receive a monthly salary of RMB654 or USD83.8. [RMB24 daily rate x 26 days (no holiday is taken during the peak season) + RMB30 full-attendance allowance]. That is less than the price of 2 game soccer (a Wilson game soccer is sold at around USD40 and an Adidas game soccer costs around USD40 - 50 each) on the shelf.
2.4
Food and lodging
The factory has a dormitory inside the factory
complex. The company also rents
apartments outside the factory as dormitories.
About 30 people share a room.
Compared to workers staying inside the factory who are not allowed to go
out and thus have everything done within the factory complex, those staying in
dormitories outside said at least they were walking to and from work and could
leave the factory complex everyday.
There was a basketball court, a cinema and other simple
entertainment facilities within the factory complex. But all they want is more freedom.
2.5
Penalty
The factory has a penalty and fine system as follows:
RMB100 (USD12.8) for a big demerit, RMB50 (USD6.4) for a small demerit or RMB30
(USD3.84) for verbal warning. Suppose a
production line worker gets RMB654 a month (see above), these penalties might
cost them 4.6% to 15% of their monthly salary.
Other petty penalties are charged at RMB5 to 10. The interviewed workers complained that the
penalties are arbitrary and heavy.
2.6
Social Security Provisions
Although it was required by law that the employer should
provide social insurance for the whole workforce, yet not all the workers are
insured. Only part of the work force
was paying RMB40 to 60 (USD5.12 to 7.69) for old age insurance. There is a factory clinic and workers can
get free medical service there.
3.
Voices of Workers
Ø
Yun Yun
Yun Yun was a new recruit.
She found herself paying a number of fees before she started her
work. She paid RMB35.5 (USD4.55) for
the worker ID, RMB27 (USD3.46) for the marital status record, RMB27 (USD3.46)
for body check up (according to the Labor Law, the employer should be paying
for the body check up for new recruits).
When all the documents were ready, she had to attend a three-day
training without pay. She was
instructed the factory rules, the wage calculation, working hours etc. The factory has very strict demand on
physical exercises. Those failed or
performed badly in the morning and evening exercises would be dismissed.
Ø
Xiao Dong
Xiao Dong had worked in the factory for a few years. He got a daily wage of RMB18.29 in the
past. It was later raised to RMB24
(USD3.08). Xiao Dong was very unhappy
about the factory rules particularly the restriction on personal freedom. They were not allowed to leave their work
place, move around or talk during work.
When the factory needed them to work overtime, they could not
object. "It is very inhuman (to
allow workers to leave the factory only three days a week)." Xiao Dong rented a small flat outside the
factory and paid RMB120 (USD15.38) a month, thus increasing his financial
burden. Xiao Dong was also complaining
about the penalty saying that it was too arbitrary and the 5-dollar and
10-dollar penalties mean a lot to them.
Xiao Dong was not aware about any posting of code of conduct on the shop
floor. After understanding our
explanation on code of conduct, he said, "Our rights are not protected
because we are supplying to too many clients.
Which of them (the clients) cares what happen to us?" When their major clients such as Wilson and
Puma came for factory inspection, the management would do a lot of preparation
work such as cleaning up the place, posting a lot of slogans or documents on
the wall etc. According to Xiao Dong a
lot of the factory documents such as wage, hours and welfare records, were
falsified.
The stories of workers from
Taiyang show that the worker situation in mainland China resembles indentured
labor found in primitive capitalist societies.
Not only does one’s physical labor can be appropriated at a rate, even
the leisure and freedom of workers is nothing but a commodity to be
"bought" and controlled by the employer. The only difference is that we have modern factory complex to
replace the fence and a "permit"(you can apply a permit to go out) to
cover up the naked exploitation of imprisonment. The employer has complete control not only over work, the setting
of factory, dormitory rules and the organizing of factory space and movement
are control mechanisms over the physical being as well as the leisure of
workers.