BEIJING, NEWS: Sweatshops Found in Beijing Suburbs
By Shi Rui and Wang Yan
15 to 21-year-old girls had to work more than 14 hours a day, seven days a week, in an illegal Beijing suburban sweatshop and were paid only one fen per piece of garment.
Overburdened workers in the sweatshop came to light when two journalists from the Beijing Morning Post pretended to be manual workers and stayed at one such sweatshop for 24 hours. During their stay, the journalists found that workers had to get up at 6 a.m. and most did not stop working until midnight.
A 17-year-old girl described her work at one Beijing suburban sweatshop as, "too tired to keep your eyes open." She said, "That's hell, they make you work to death."
Most of these "work–to-death" girls came from the same village in Handan, Hebei. They introduced each other to the job, but couldn't have imagined the abominable working condition.
Heat continuously given out by over ten sewing machines, burning electric incandescent lamps and the stuffy weather made the plant like a steam box even in the evenings. Still, half of the girls continued working in the plant during "off-duty" times.
Another girl worker said many of them usually stayed till midnight. "We are supposed to leave at 10 p.m., but those who work too slowly to finish their task have to stay and continue working." She also said that if one could not finish her task, someone else would be assigned to it, which meant her money would be earned by others.
In their first month, workers got 230 Yuan, which was much less than the 640 Yuan Beijing minimum monthly pay standard. From the second month on, they began to earn piecework wage ranging from 1 fen to 26 fens per piece, depending on the difficulty of the job. The most skilled worker, who had worked in the sweatshop for three years, could produce 200 to 300 pieces every day and earn about 1,100 Yuan per mouth while the average wage was 500 Yuan.
Food and sleep were supposed to bring refreshment, but to save money the boss served only steamed bread with celery in it. Three beds in the dormitory held 10 girls every night. A rocking electric fan made a loud noise above their heads and mosquitoes filled the room.
The long hours laboring together with poor food and little sleep murdered the passion and dreams of these young girls in the sweatshop. Faced with the question whether they were satisfied with their current life, they answered no, but when asked about future plans, they fell into bemusement.
Journalists informed the Beijing Shunyi Bureau of Industry and Commerce after leaving the sweatshop. Receiving the information, officials from the bureau said prosecution would soon be put into practice.
Handan, Hebei, 邯郸
This article by the authors first appeared in the South China Morning Post, July 20 -- the editors
15 to 21-year-old girls had to work more than 14 hours a day, seven days a week, in an illegal Beijing suburban sweatshop and were paid only one fen per piece of garment.
Overburdened workers in the sweatshop came to light when two journalists from the Beijing Morning Post pretended to be manual workers and stayed at one such sweatshop for 24 hours. During their stay, the journalists found that workers had to get up at 6 a.m. and most did not stop working until midnight.
A 17-year-old girl described her work at one Beijing suburban sweatshop as, "too tired to keep your eyes open." She said, "That's hell, they make you work to death."
Most of these "work–to-death" girls came from the same village in Handan, Hebei. They introduced each other to the job, but couldn't have imagined the abominable working condition.
Heat continuously given out by over ten sewing machines, burning electric incandescent lamps and the stuffy weather made the plant like a steam box even in the evenings. Still, half of the girls continued working in the plant during "off-duty" times.
Another girl worker said many of them usually stayed till midnight. "We are supposed to leave at 10 p.m., but those who work too slowly to finish their task have to stay and continue working." She also said that if one could not finish her task, someone else would be assigned to it, which meant her money would be earned by others.
In their first month, workers got 230 Yuan, which was much less than the 640 Yuan Beijing minimum monthly pay standard. From the second month on, they began to earn piecework wage ranging from 1 fen to 26 fens per piece, depending on the difficulty of the job. The most skilled worker, who had worked in the sweatshop for three years, could produce 200 to 300 pieces every day and earn about 1,100 Yuan per mouth while the average wage was 500 Yuan.
Food and sleep were supposed to bring refreshment, but to save money the boss served only steamed bread with celery in it. Three beds in the dormitory held 10 girls every night. A rocking electric fan made a loud noise above their heads and mosquitoes filled the room.
The long hours laboring together with poor food and little sleep murdered the passion and dreams of these young girls in the sweatshop. Faced with the question whether they were satisfied with their current life, they answered no, but when asked about future plans, they fell into bemusement.
Journalists informed the Beijing Shunyi Bureau of Industry and Commerce after leaving the sweatshop. Receiving the information, officials from the bureau said prosecution would soon be put into practice.
Handan, Hebei, 邯郸
This article by the authors first appeared in the South China Morning Post, July 20 -- the editors
1 Comments:
At 3:08 AM , Really! said...
Great! I share your views. More at:
http://uvgarden.blogspot.com
Enjoy!
Post a Comment
<< Home