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Exploitation in Chinese factories blamed for unsafe toys
Beijing (AFP) Aug 21, 2007 Exploitation of workers in Chinese factories is one of the key reasons why unsafe toys are being exported around the world, a US-based labour rights group said Tuesday. Following an eight-month investigation into eight Chinese factories that supply major international toy companies, China Labour Watch said workers were regularly exploited and often had to work long hours in unsafe conditions. China Labour Watch said the recent recalls of Chinese-made toys over safety scares, such as the one last week by US giant Mattel, was a result of this widespread exploitation. "It is not shocking that these toys made in China are facing the process of recall -- it is the result of multinational corporations pursuing low-priced products and lacking social responsibility," the group said in the report. "Short-sighted policies drive corporations... to turn a blind eye to safety and to ignore the labour conditions in their supplier factories as well," it said. "In the end, they too may pay the price." In order to maintain modest profits, the local supplier factories in China often have to lower their prices to compete for contracts with Western toy brand owners, it said. "The blame for these abuses does not rest solely, or even principally, with the manufacturers themselves. Toy companies' pitiful prices are the main culprit." The New York-based group investigated Chinese factories that made toys for major Western brands such as Disney, Hasbro and Fox TM. Often, no contracts, pension or medical insurance are offered to workers while factories often demand overtime that exceeds the legal standard, it said. Workers at some factories put in 10 to 14 hours daily during peak season and were not given their entitled days off. Their wages are often below the legal minimum wage standard (700 yuan, 92 dollars a month), according to the report. At work, they also suffer verbal and sometimes physical abuse and sexual harassment, it said. They are often exposed to lead and other harmful chemicals in poorly ventilated rooms and do not often receive fair compensation when they are injured, the report said. Children under age 16 have also been hired by some factories, it said. Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
China foundry blast kills 14: report
Beijing (AFP) Aug 20, 2007Fourteen workers were killed and 59 other injured in an explosion that destroyed an aluminium foundry in eastern China, state media reported Monday. |
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