A Dongguan company exploits workers with long hours and low salaries. In Guangdong workers seek a pay increase and better conditions and companies move production elsewhere. 764 licences are suspended in ‘illegal’ factories.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – To make Disney’s Christmas toys. Hundreds of workers from Tianyu Toys factory in Dongguan (Guangdong) were forced to work up to 16 hurs a day, from 8 in the morning to beyond midnight, receiving only 3 Yuan an hour for overtime, less than half of the minimum wage.  Jenny Chan of Hong Kong based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, denounces that the workers went on strike in September, but only succeeded in having an increase of 3,5 Yuan an hour for over time.  The group also says that many workers receive a monthly salary of just 5-600 Yuan (66-80 dollars).

The company denies the accusations and Alannah Gross, spokesperson for Disney, has limited himself to promising “close inspections”.

Thanks to low labour costs the vast majority of the worlds toys are all produced in China.  The leading Japanese company Tomy has based over 90% of its production in China, but on November 1 it announced that it aims to move 30% of its production elsewhere, (perhaps in Vietnam or Thailand) within the next three years.

After the summer’s heated exchange of accusations between Mattel (who withdrew over 18 million games accusing the Chinese factories of not having respected safety measures) and the Chinese factories (who responded saying that the lack depended above all on Mattel’s projects), international concerns over toy safety remains high.  Recently Toys “R” Us Inc. recalled over 16 thousand toys made with led paint.  On October 31st Guangdong’s government revoked and suspended the production licenses of over 764 toy factories because of “quality problems” and to a further 690 it set a deadline for “a renovation and improvement of the plants and products”.

 

• CHINA
• TOYS
• FACTORY
• MATTEL
• DISNEY
• SLAVE
• LABOUR