CHILD LABOR IN CHINA
(Change HKCIC- June 1996)

Introduction

  In China, child labor may not be as serious as in some countries, such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, but it is sure that child labor issue cannot be overlooked. There is clear evidence that child labor is increasing in China.
  So far, there is no formal figure on child labor in China. The Chinese Government use the excuse that the authorities concerned cannot get hold of the situation on time. But the Government has never mentioned why they cannot.
  According to government statistics, more than 10 million children, aged 6-15 ("Far East Economic Review" claims 24 million) are out of school in China. A conservative estimation is that half of these children are working in factories. In other words, there are more than 5 million child workers in China. This is surely underestimate. In Sichuan, the most populated province in China, it was reported that 85% of children who drop out from school are working in other provinces. Even in some rural enterprises, 20% of work force are child labour.
  In the last few years, there is an increase of kidnapping children. It is befieved that most of them are sold to work in factories. In 1994, 48 Zhengzhou brick shop owners kidnapped more than 100 children. 40 children were forced to work more than 10 hours a day, but no wages were given.   It is common that workers in China work more than 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most of them can only enjoy 1-2 days off a month. However, Chinese Labour Law states that workers should work 8 hours a day. 6 days a week. Children will surely face much harsh exploitation.

Cases

  Now let us see case of industrial casualties which involved child labour.
1. On Nov. 19, 1993, a fatal fire at the Hong Kong-owned Zhili Toy Factory in Shenzhen (the first Special Economic Zone in China) killed 87 workers and injured another 51. The youngest victim was a 15-year-old girl.
2. On Sept. 2, 1995, a blaze at the Huiyuan Lighter Factory in Shunde, Guangdong Province killed 23 workers and injured another 60 (all of them are women workers) Among the critically injured was a girl aged 15.
3. A foreign-invested textile enterprise in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, employed 400 rural migrants, of whom 160 were child workers. A 14-years-old girl, exhausted by long hour works (18 hours a day), fainted while working. Her hair was pulled into the machine and she died on the spot.
4. A serious blast occurred in a fireworks factory in Dongguang, Guangdong Province, killing 11 and injuring another 7. All of them were child workers between 12 and 15.
5. Since 1989, Fujian Province has witnessed several industrial accidents that involved child workers. In Xianyou County, four blasts broke out within 13 days in village and township fireworks factories, killing 5 children (4 girls and a boy) and injuring more than 30 others.
  The cases mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg. More stories of suffering have not been revealed. Obviously children are at risk of losing their lives in industrial accidents.

Health and Safety

  Many workers, including child workers, in China are forced to work in very dangerow conditions. Most child workers are working in the town ship and village factories. According to a government report in 1984, 82.7% of township and village enterprises in China have at lease one problem which cawes occupational disease. 1/3 of workers are working in dangerous conditions, in which poisonous chemicals, dust and noise prevail. Children absolutely suffer more than adults in such horrible working conditions.
  Moreover, it was reported that half of the enterprises in Shenzhen are found to have violated the Chinese labour regulations. It was reported in January, 1996 that more than 70,000 (230,000 reported by Ming Pao and Agence France Presse) women working in mostly Taiwan owned shoe factories in southeastern Fujian could have been exposed to benzene poisoning 5 times the legal maximum (Ming Pao claims 10 times). At least 3 deaths are reported. Numerous women workers suffer from severe diseases caused by poisoning, and many are in critical condition. Most of these enterprises are supphers to multinational corporations.
  The multinational corporations' executives, however, deny that such problems are happening with their business partners. For example, Reebok claims that they have set up the "Reebok Human Rights Production Standard" to monitor their business partners and will send delegation to investigate their suppliers' factories regularly. So there should be no safety problem and exploitations with their business partners.

The hypocrisy of multinational Corporation

  Last June and July, the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee conducted a survey on 16 foreign-owned footwear factories in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Let use see the problems with Reebok bwiness partners.

On child labour

  "Reebok will not work with business partners that we child labour", states the "Reebok Human Rights Production standard". However, the Nority Group, one of Reebok's suppliers, violates such regulation. Nority workers in Donggung factory told CIC staff that child workers (those under 16) were working in their factory.

On forced workers

  In its "Human Right Production Standard", Reebok affirms that "Reebok will not work with business partners that use forced or other compulsory labour". But workers in the Yong Shing Factory, a factory of the Liang Shing Group, another Reebok supplier, are only allowed to go out on weekend nights. In day time, workers are watched by security guards when they go to the canteen and dormitory. A woman worker complained, "The Factory is a de facto detention camp. We are prisoners without being charged".
  Multinational corporations never seriously monitor their business partners. When they sub-contract business to their business partners in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, they just want to avoid any criticism about their direct involvement in the exploitation of Chinese workers and Chinese children.

The Responsibility of the Chinese Government

  We cannot retrain from condemning the Chinese Government. The Chinese Government claims that for certain reasons, they don't have accurate figure of child workers and cannot stop the employment of child labour in time. But it is an excuse. Local govermnent officers are deeply involved in local business in China. The officials are not only the pohce, the judge, but also the boss. There is no way for the Chinese Government to excuse themselves on the child labour issue. Chinese officials, as a part of management in local business, get involved in the exploitation of Chinese children as workers.

Recommendations

  To protect Chinese children and Chinese workers, we demand 1. that the Chinese Government strictly enforce Chinese Labour Law and relevant regulations; 2. that an independent trade union should be allowed. Only autonomous trade unions can truly safeguard workers' rights; 3. that international solidarity to Chinese workers and to Autonomous trade uoionists in China should be strengthened. Hong Kong groups have organized an international toy campaign in Asia to attack the multinational Corporations to protect Chinese workers' and children's right.
  It is absolutely unacceptable that the lovely toys for children are made of the blood of lovely children in developing countries.

(by Chan Ka Wai)

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