A fter years of suffering abuse and illegal working conditions, workers at the "Quality Clothes" factory in Guangzhou, China, finally managed to bring attention to the living hell they had been working in.
According to the China Labour Bulletin, workers had to work three shifts a day: 8-12 am, 2-6pm and 7-11 pm, with only one day off a month. This did not include overtime, which could amount to 100 hours a month, way above the legal limit of 36 hours a month.
Workers had to sign the factory rule book, which included the principle of "setting a good example by guaranteeing all orders are completed on time". The rule states that "if this requires double-shifts or compulsory overtime, no excuses will be accepted. Being absent from one's work station without reason is a punishable offence. Being absent from one's work station without reason is a punishable offence. Leave taken during evening overtime shifts will be counted as half a normal day.Unauthorised absence or any other form of absenteeism will be counted as half a day's leave, and any employee who accumulates more than three days in this manner will be automatically dismissed".
The factory records provide evidence of cheating. One worker, Ding Li, was paid a mere 7$ for 113 hours of overtime. Workers earned at most 55$ a month, including overtime.
There were over 100 workers employed at the plant, but only six showers. This meant that after a 12hour shift, workers would have to wait up to three hours, as late as two in the morning, before being able to take a shower.
One pregnant worker, Ceng Shanping, started to bleed heavily while still at work and requested permission to go to hospital. The supervisor said he did not believe she was in any danger, and refused to let her leave. Ceng miscarried several hours later. According to the workers, as many as seven- women suffered miscarriages during the peak months of June to August all as a result of being forced to work overtime.
After the Guangzhou factory was exposed in the Chinese press, the factory owner, Mr Lin, claimed: "I'd like to stick to the labour laws, but if I did I'd go out of business. In all honesty, we are very good to our workers. Those that have left have done so because they bear a grudge".
Clearly Mr Lin is doing nothing to encourage the second part of Deng Xiaping's economic mantra: "let some get rich first, the others will follow".

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