January 18, 2001

To Walt Disney Company

I am working in ... factory which is one of your suppliers in China. I know your company

has sent people several times to visit and investigate our factory. As a worker, however, I

would like to tell you that most of your findings do not reflect the real situation. Since we are

bullied by the management, we dare not to tell you the truth when you visit our factory.

There is no way for us to revolt against the management's order. In reality, I deeply know

and experience that our workers' rights are being exploited. Hence, I am writing to tell you

about our real working and living conditions.

The relationship between Disney, ..., and we workers is very close. I have learned that your

company promised to secure our workers' rights. Hence, it is very important for us to voice

out the truth to you. On behalf of the workers in , I am writing about our situation and

demands:

The extreme poverty in the rural area makes it difficult for us to earn a basic living. That is

why we tear ourselves away from the family, and travel for thousand of miles to work in

South China. Most of us want to earn money to sustain a decent living. Life is cruel. It is

impossible to live without money. Every time we get low wages from the factory, a strong

sense of unfairness is raised. We have contributed our sweat and youth to our factory.

However, what we get is very tiny wage. Even in the peak season when we labor around the

clock, most of our wages are about RMB 600-700 (USD73-85). What's our hard toil for?

1.When our factory has insufficient orders, the management does not give us a living

subsidy and allowance. In the slack season, we are never compensated. No minimum

wage is guaranteed. Some of us cannot maintain a basic standard of living

2.After the deduction of living and dorm fees and fines, the wages we get in the hand are

very limited and not enough for our living expenses. Many of us are only given RMB

50-150 (USD6-18) a month. Worse still, the fines are never shown on our the payslips

because the management will directly deduct them when they give us our wages.

Hence, your monitors can never find the problems.

3.Our wage is calculated by piece-rates and the management sets us a daily working

quota. Working overtime is very common but we are never fully compensated.

Health is our only capital. Good health can be contributed by nutritious and hygienic

conditions. However, food provided in our canteen is really poor. Mostly, we are offered

vegetables but no meat. It is not a well-balanced meal. Besides, the dining utensils are always

dirty. People working in the kitchen just simply wash and have no high-temperature

sterilization. It makes virus-spreading easier. We have even found dishwashing water residue

and leftover cleaning detergent on the utensils. Worse still, those workers who joined the

factory after April 2000 did not get a medical examination. This suggests that the

management is indifferent to our health.

We are very disappointed with the low wages. We always work OT, for up to 200 hours a

month. We work so hard but the wage is so tiny. Generally, the working and living conditions

here are very harsh. Personally, the most profound issue is that the management suddenly

called us to sign July's payslips three to four months ago. We were all surprised why the

management asked us to sign again since July's wage had been paid. I have heard that it is

because your people are coming to check our factory. Many workers were not aware of

what's happened and then signed. Some of us wanted to clarify with the management and

asked to examine the payslips. However, the management refused and threatened us if we

refused to sign. One worker insisted to look at the payslips, but was later fired. We all

wondered if the management had falsified the payslips so that you will not find out what is

really happening. In fact, there are many tricky methods to fool the monitors and breach the

laws.

The management has many excuses to fine the workers and it costs us a lot of money.

Moreover, our wages are seldom paid on time. Sometimes they delay payment for two

months. The management always uses the excuse the factory's financial difficulties. We could

not get the wages until we call to have a strike. Why's that?

Because of the Socialist Reform in China, we contribute our young lives and work here. We

do not complain about the hardship but hope our workers' rights are respected and social

security is guaranteed. As members of the working class in China, we know that we need to

voice out the truth to fight for our basic rights. It is the voice of protest. We are looking for

justice. Hence, we call you to try your best to investigate the true situation in the factory,

improve our working conditions and respect our rights.

Yours faithfully,

A worker in ... factory.