Egregious violations at factory (5.000 workers) manufacturing cell phone covers: workers consistently working over 220 hours of overtime for the past few months (six times the 36 hour overtime legal limit); minimum daily factory stay is 12 hours; 14-15 hour work days; some work for 16 hours/day; base salary (1100 RMB -$176); workers dependent on overtime to make a living-wage; 200 student workers in the summer.
Abusive conditions in toy factory: pay rates as low as only 59 percent of local minimum wage, worker dorm rooms housing 22 people each, work schedules that surpass the legal limit by at least 36.5 hours per week.
Violations at factory (2.000 employees) producing mobile phones, mp3s, DVDs, etc:Research indicates student workers amount to 80% of the factory workforce; approximately 50-100 children working; youngest worker spotted was 14 years old; low wages for children, 70% less than formal employees; discrimination based on sex and age; 11 hours daily work shifts (including 3-5 hours of forced overtime).
Labor violations at factory (~5,000 workers) producing parts for consumer electronics: age discrimination upon hiring (16 – 35 years old); use of chlid labor (as low as 16); 12 hour daily shifts; workers have one day off/month during off season; during peak season they have 1 day off every two months (143 – 154 hours monthly overtime); 24 hour shift when workers switch from morning to evening shift; local minimum wage pay; overtime required to cover living costs; overall average wage 3,000 RMB (≈$476); verbally abusive managers; poor air quality and toxic chemical exposure; reported injury burns.
8,000 workers walk off their factory job to protest managers retaining their year-end bonuses while cancelling the workers’ bonuses, as well as other grievances.
Steel company workers go on strike, protesting their “extremely” low salaries.
Workers making plastic toys on 18-20.5 hour shifts; mandatory 7 day workweeks; 30 days a month; pay below minimum wage; 16 ½ cents an hour on average; organizing a union is strictly prohibited; 20 people share one dorm room.
1,000 workers go on strike to protest loss of seniority, low wages ($228 for new workers), withhold of worker overtime salaries and other grievances.
12,5 – 13 hour shifts during low season. 14,5 – 15 hour shifts during high season. Seven days/week. Workers under-paid, over-worked and inhumanely treated.
Workers kept in factory for 12,5 hours, work intensity and low wages drive people to illness, death and suicide. Female worker turned ill in November 1999. She was denied sick leave 3 times, and was found dead in the restroom. Since 1994, 14 workers have committed suicide.
