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Profile: Location:
Shengzhen (Shajing Township, Bao’an district) This
is a contractor with the American company Farberware. Its product,
Farberware can opener, is sold at $20 on average in many American
stores. Workers are paid 4 cents for each of them. Introduction: l
In
peak production seasons workers are required to stay 16.5 hours a day in
the factory, working 14 hours (all standing), 7 days a week and 30 days
a month. Normally workers work over 375 hours a month. No more than 10
days off a whole year including all holidays. l
Hourly
wage 1.22 RMB (15 cents). Forced overtime. Some new workers do 4 hours
overtime but are paid for only 2 hours. Overtime hourly wage 1.65 RMB
(20 cents). l
Heavy
workload. Assignment could not be finished within 12.5 normal working
hours. l
Very
harsh factory regulations. Violations are met by fines or firing. l
A
very small dormitory houses 16 workers. Room and board deducted from
wages. No bathroom and toilets. l
Employment
requires a 60 RMB fees. Workers start being paid their first month wages
after being employed 75 days. No work contract. l
No
medical, retirement and unemployment insurance. Workers are fired if
ill. l
Workers
are often abused and humiliated at the worksite. l
Generally
only female workers of ages 18-25 are hired l
A
factory “Improvement Committee” only responsible for better quality
and more output, unconcerned with workers welfare. No union. Work Hours
Under
normal conditions, workers stay inside the factory for around 15.5
hours. 7:30 -12:00
Working Workers
work 7 days a week. Every week total time at the worksite amounts to an
average of 105 hours and working time 87.5 hours. In
the peak season workers stay in the factory for an average of 16.5 hours
per day. 7:30 -12:00
Working Workers
work 7 days a week. Every week total time at the worksite amounts to an
average of 111.5 hours and working time 98 hours (standing). Normally
workers work 30 days, over 375 hours a month. No more than 10 days off
during the whole year, including all holidays. Wages
Hourly
wage is 1.22 RMB (about 15 cents). Normal
day shift from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 8.5 working hours for which the
workers are paid 11.5 RMB ($1.41) Overtime
from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. is paid 1.65 RMB an hour (20 cents), 6.6 RMB (80
cents) for 4 hours. So
the workers are paid 2.25
dollars a day (12.5 hours); However,
the workers who have less than 3 months experience are paid for only 2
their 4 hours overtime. About 20% of workers belong to this category
(since many workers quit--losing their deposit--because of the inhuman
conditions). They are paid at 1.75
dollars a day (12.5 hours); Workload
Heavy
workload. Daily assignment could be finished within 12.5 hours and the
factory doesn’t pay the workers beyond 12.5 hours. For
example, a Farberware can opener production line is composed of 23
workers with a daily assignment of 1400 pieces. If the workers in the
line fail to produce 1400 pieces by 10:30 p.m., they are forced to go on
working, as ‘voluntary work’ (the term used by management). If they
finish the assignment before 10:30 p.m., they have to continue until
10:30. In both cases, there is no additional overtime pay. Harsh
Factory Rules
A
“major offense” results in a fine of 100 RMB ($12); a ‘minor’
one 50 RMB ($6); a ‘warning’ 10 RMB ($1.2). For
example, for being even one minute late, a worker would be fined 50 RMB,
which is more than her whole day’s wage; if not ‘respectful’ of
the superiors, such as talking back, the worker receives a warning; if
taking a day off without permission from superiors, a major offense; if
refusing to work overtime, a major offense.
Three times refusing to work overtime leads to firing. Room and
Board
A
very small dormitory houses 16 workers. Workers sleep in bunks. There is
one bathroom for all of them. Room
and board are deducted from wages. The room costs 40 RMB ($5) per month.
A meal, provided by the factory, costs 3-5 RMB. Some workers only eat
two meals to save money. Sometimes
because of the deductions and heavy fines, workers may owe money to the
factory after a month. Sign-up and
Quitting
When
workers sign up for the job, they are required to pay 60 RMB fees: 45
RMB for uniform, 5 RMB for factory ID, 10RMB for room registration. Workers
receive their first month’s pay after they have worked 75 days. In
essence, the factory withholds one and a half months of workers’ wages
as deposit. Workers
don’t have a contract and cannot quit the job. The only way out is
leaving on their own, in which case they lose two and a half months’
wages (Deposit plus the last month’s wages). In the peak season the
workload is too heavy and many workers would like to leave. However, the
loss of money prevents them from doing so. Welfare
The
workers don’t have any insurance. If
a worker is ill beyond 3-day sick leave, he or she will be fired by the
factory. Humiliation
and Abuses
Workers
are often humiliated and abused at work. For example, if a worker slows
down the product line, the line leader will harshly scold him or her or
even impose other punishments. Workers
can only go to the bathroom with permission from their supervisor.
Female workers sometimes cry when not given the permission to go to the
bathroom. Gender
Issues
In general the factory tries to hire only female workers aged 18-25. Female workers older than 25 are considered physically unfit for the tough working conditions. Xin Qiao’s workload is too much for many female workers. As a result the factory has recruited many male workers. Organizing
No
union. If some workers raise demands about improving working and living
conditions, they will be fired immediately, forfeiting their deposit and
last month’s wages. In
December 1999, some workers were planning a strike, with the only demand
being no overtime from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Sundays. More than one
thousand workers were soon involved.
The representatives of the workers went to the management and then the
municipal labor bureau, but to no avail. The factory fired them
immediately and threatened to turn them to police.
An
“Improvement Committee” was set up in January of 1999. However, it
is controlled by the management and only concerned with better quality
and more output. Its setup actually worked against workers’ interests.
For example, before January 1999, Workers could be seated while working.
The committee recommended as a measure to increase output that workers
work in a standing position. Many female workers were reduced to tears
when this requirement was first put into practice in February 1999.
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