China: Misery in Santa's workshop -- inside China's toy factories
A 2004 film shows that little has changed.
[For more discussion on China's economic and political development, click HERE.]
December 23, 2011 -- A new report by Hong Kong-based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) reveals the terrible working conditions endured by workers who produce many of the toys that will be enjoyed by children in the Western world this Christmas.
In Guangdong province, from where 70% of China’s toys are exported, migrant workers’ official basic salary is around 850-1320 yuan a month (US$134-208), the statutory local minimum wage. The minimum wage is barely enough for self-subsistence.
Restricted by the meagre pay, workers have to leave their children behind in their hometowns where they can only visit once a year, during Chinese New Year, and for this family reunion they cannot afford to buy what they produce as gifts for their children -- not a Mattel’s Hot Wheels toy car, not a Disney storybook.Read the full report on screen, or download from the link below