holidays by hasbro
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Hasbro Transformers toys are made in the Jet Fair sweatshop in ChinaTRANSCRIPT
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (Formerly National Labor Committee) 5 Gateway Center, 6F, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 , U.S.A. +1-412-562-2406 | [email protected] | www.globallabourrights.org
December 2011 Author Charles Kernaghan Research Charles Kernaghan, Barbara Briggs Cassie Rusnak, Elana Szymkowiak, and Victoria Lopez
HOLIDAYS BY HASBRO:
Transformers toy production at Jet Fair factory in China
TRANSFORMERS FROM HELL
Table of Contents
Executive Summary: Jet Fair sweatshop in China produces Hasbro’s Transformers .................................... i
Preface by Charles Kernaghan: Hasbro, Putting Lipstick on a Pig ............................................................... ii
Company Profiles.......................................................................................................................................... 1
Hasbro’s Christmas Workshop: How would you like your daughter or son to work here? .......................... 3
Filthy, Rat-infested Dorms; Workers Tortured by Bed Bugs ............................................................. 10
Factory Cafeteria ................................................................................................................................. 12
Hours: 70-plus Hours a Week ..................................................................................................................... 14
Hasbro Supplier in Blatant Violation of Even China’s Weak Labor Laws................................................. 15
Words Are One Thing. Reality Is Another. ................................................................................................ 16
Wages: $1.18 an hour and $204.34 a month ............................................................................................... 20
Executive Summary
Jet Fair sweatshop in China produces
Hasbro’s Transformers
Workers housed in filthy, over-crowded dorms, infested with rats and bed bugs. Workers report they
cannot sleep at night from the bed bug bites.
Workers describe factory food as “Pretty much like swine food.”
Workers allowed less than 9 minutes to assemble each Hasbro Transformer, for which they are paid
17 cents.
“We are drenched in sweat,” workers say. Factory temperatures soar to 104 degrees F in summer.
During peak season, workers toil 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, while earning a take-home wage
of just 92 cents an hour.
Workers undergo three body-searches each day, are not permitted to talk or lift their heads to look
around, and need permission to use the bathroom.
Hasbro is open to the hiring of 14 and 15-year-olds on a “case-by-case basis.”
Workers in the spray paint department fear they are being exposed to dangerous solvents.
There are no fire drills and some emergency exits are locked.
During the slow season, hundreds of workers are fired under false charges so management does not
have to pay their legal severance.
Workers are cheated of paid sick leave and maternity leave.
Workers describe their work as mindless, miserable, constantly monotonous, yet furious and
exhausting.
Preface by Charles Kernaghan
Hasbro
Putting Lipstick on a Pig
That is exactly what Hasbro executives are doing—putting lipstick on a pig—when they claim to have
voluntary corporate codes of conduct to guarantee the rights of the workers in China who make their
Transformers, board games and tricycles. On the other hand, when it comes to its toys, Hasbro’s
executives demand enforceable laws—intellectual property and copyright laws—backed up by sanctions
to protect their plastic Transformers. Anyone caught making a knock-off of a Hasbro toy will be
prosecuted and do real jail time.
What accounts for this schizophrenic split personality? Hasbro would never even dream of allowing its
toys made in China or elsewhere to be protected by voluntary codes of conduct. If it is not good enough
for a Transformer robot to be protected by Hasbro’s voluntary code of conduct, then why is it good
enough for the human beings who make the company’s toys, often under gross and abusive sweatshop
conditions while being paid pennies an hour?
Corporate codes of conduct were never really meant to enforce or protect workers’ internationally
recognized labor rights. This is one of the great scams that Hasbro and the other toy companies have
pulled on the American people.
It is this simple: Hasbro knows that in the global economy, there must be enforceable laws, backed up by
sanctions, to protect their trademark toys. Protecting the legal rights of workers, who are real, living
human beings, is of much less concern to Hasbro. In fact, Hasbro and the others much prefer that workers
are not afforded enforceable rights.
The so-called corporate codes of conduct are really the equivalent of counterfeit knock-offs themselves,
undermining the inalienable rights of human beings.
We want to ask Hasbro: Why is it that you demand enforceable laws to protect your toys, while refusing
to grant the human beings who make them the same legal protections? If Hasbro executives can answer
this question, I will profusely apologize to Hasbro and tear our report up into a thousand pieces.
On the other hand, if Hasbro’s executives remain stone silent, hiding behind their purposefully ineffective
voluntary codes of conduct, we will know they are deep into their scam.
Nothing will change in the global sweatshop economy until workers are guaranteed access to the
enforceable labor rights protections that are afforded under internationally recognized labor rights
standards—no child labor, no forced labor, freedom of association, the right to organize and form
independent unions, the right to bargain collectively and access to decent working conditions.
The American people have the right to hold corporations accountable and demand that human beings
have at least the same enforceable legal protections as a Hasbro toy.
Our economy belongs at least as much to the American people as it does to the corporations. Together,
we have the right to remake our economy with a human face.
Company Profiles
Jet Fair Industrial Ltd
He-Jing Industrial Area
He-ping Village, Fu-yong Town
Bao-an District, Shenzhen City
Guangdong, CHINA
Phone: 0755-33806688
Fax: 0755-33670988
Hong Kong funded factory, established
in 1993.
There are approximately 3,000 workers at Jet Fair, the vast majority of whom are migrant workers from
the Guangxi region and Henan Province. The factory hires men and women, between the ages of 16 and
40, with women accounting for over 60 percent of the total workforce.
Jet Fair has nine factory buildings with four floors each along with five dormitories. Most of the
production at Jet Fair is for well-known toy companies like Hasbro, Wal-Mart and others. It also exports
to Japan. Along with toys, the factory also exports electronic products such as electric toothbrushes.
Common toys produced at Jet Fair include toy cars, small remote-control airplanes, and robots. The
majority of the production for the last several months has been Transformers models for Hasbro.
Hasbro
1027 Newport Avenue
Pawtucket, RI 02862
Phone: (401) 431-8697
Fax: (401) 727-5544
Hasbro reported $4 billion in revenue in 2010,
with an operating profit of $587 million.
In 2010, Mr. Brian Golden, Hasbro’s president, paid himself $23.15 million.
The vast majority of Hasbro’s toys are manufactured in 46 factories in China.
In 2011, we tracked at least 39 shipments from the Jet Fair Industrial factory in Shenzhen, China to
Hasbro.
The popular Transformers toys are a profit source for Hasbro. In the second quarter of 2011,
Transformer sales boosted Hasbro’s profits by 23 percent.
Source: Hasbro 2010 Annual Report
A photo of Hasbro Transformers Prime First Edition Series
Bumblebee figure smuggled out of Jet Fair factory in late 2011.
Hasbro’s Christmas Workshop
How would you like your daughter or son to work here?
The second floor of Building A is for the
Assembly Department.
There are approximately 70 workers in each
assembly line. In late November 2011, Lines
#2 and #4 were producing Transformers
Bumblebee Series for Hasbro.
Management sets a mandatory production
goal of completing 480 Transformers per hour
per line. The workers sit at small work
benches—which are old, dirty and dusty—
with their hands flying to reach their goals.
There is very little space, since the work
benches are crammed together. The workers
cannot even stretch their backs without banging
into the desk behind them.
The workers are strictly prohibited from raising their heads to
look around. The work pace is very intense and no one is
allowed to talk.
In many positions, workers do not even have the time to go to
the bathroom. When it is busy, which is most of the time,
workers are yelled at if they try to go to the toilet. The lucky
ones who can use the bathroom have to get permission from
the lineman, and surrender their ID badges. Only two people
at a time can use the bathroom, and toilet breaks are limited
to three or four minutes.
Workers describe the work as terribly monotonous, flying
through the same motions over and over again, all day long,
non-stop. There is not a single break during working hours.
Photos of Hasbro Transformers Bumblebee figure taken on
assembly line in late 2011.
The workers cannot talk, listen to music or use their cell phones.
Managers are never satisfied and constantly harass the workers.
In effect, each worker must complete 6.86 Hasbro
Transformers per hour, or one every 8.75 minutes, for which
they are paid just 17.4 cents.
In the summer months, the workshop is extremely hot. There is
no air conditioning, and the 13 fans per assembly line only
manage to push around the steaming hot air.
Hasbro has managed to turn the assembly of toys into a mindless,
miserable and constantly monotonous yet furious series of hand
motions, while being paid below-subsistence wages.
Hasbro’s Corporate Code of Conduct reads well. For example, the toy workers at the Jet Fair factory are
guaranteed: “Freedom of Association—Hasbro recognizes all employees’ right to choose (or not) to
affiliate with a legally sanctioned organization or association without unlawful interference.”
The only glitch is that there are no independent unions in China. The Chinese government does not allow
it. So Hasbro can whistle away regarding Freedom of Association, but the workers in China have no right
to organize a genuine independent union.
Nineteen Years Old and Going Nowhere
“I work at the Assembly Department on the second floor of Building A.
“It’s really frantic to work on the assembly line. The items keep coming fast. We need to
work nonstop, with both hands flying. My back hurts from working too long without getting a
break.
“Once in a while I lift up my head and I find myself looking into the fierce and swift eyes of
those who have nothing to do [i.e. managers]. When they are in a bad mood, they scold us
with really filthy language, which I don’t even want to repeat. Lately the manager has been
giving me trouble. A defective product was not mine, but the manager blamed me. I’m only
19 years old. I feel like crap when I’m scolded all the time.
“I pay for food and living expenses and don’t have any money left at the end of the month. I
don’t have money to send back to my parents, and I can’t ask them for money. I hope I can
find a better factory.”
Photos of Hasbro Transformers Prime
First Edition Series Bumblebee figure
taken on assembly lines at Jet Fair in late
2011.
Body Searches Three Times a Day
One would not necessarily associate toy making
with body searches three times a day. But the Jet
Fair workers are body searched when they leave
the work shop for lunch, again when they leave
the workshop after their shift is over, and again
when they leave the factory compound. Factory
security guards carry out the searches.
The Pot Calls the Kettle...Spotless
Wal-Mart Applauds Hasbro’s Commitment to Corporate Social
Responsibility!
“Wal-Mart applauds Hasbro’s long-term commitment and accomplishments in
corporate social responsibility,” said Laura Phillips, Wal-Mart’s senior vice
president of Toys and Seasonal Merchandising. “As Hasbro builds upon its
industry leadership position in environmental sustainability and product safety,
we are hopeful that industry players will adopt similar ambitious goals.”
Dec. 8, 2011 Pawtucket, R.I. Hasbro Press Release
Source: Hasbro Corporate Social Responsibility
“We are Drenched in Sweat.”
─104 degrees─
“I’ve worked at this department [pressing] since I started. It’s
been two years.”
When asked by an interviewer, “Is it hot in the summer?” she
responded:
“What do you think? There are so many machines, melting
plastic, all throwing off such high temperatures all in one
workshop. It is very hot in summer. It often gets to over 40
degrees Celsius [over 104 F]. We are drenched in sweat. Our
clothes get wet.
There are fans, but the temperature is just too high. The fans
don’t help. There is also lots of noise, but there is no
protective gear to cover our ears.”
─Hasbro worker
Tell This to Chinese Sweatshop
Workers
at Jet Fair
“Transformers characters like Optimus Prime
inspire us to be adaptable in the face of new
challenges... and diligent in our quest to conquer
the evil Decepticons!”
─Hasbro
Shipper Consignee
Jet Fair Industrial Ltd.
He Jing Industrial Estate
Block 21, Qiao He Road
Shenzhen, 44 518103
People’s Republic of China
Hasbro Inc.
1020 SH Morgan Parkway
Pooler, GA 31322
U.S.A.
ATTN: Warehouse Manager
Shipment Detail
Country of Origin: China Estimated value: $67,324.14
Port of Departure: Yantian Weight: 12,408.00 KG
Port of Arrival: Savannah TEUs: 3.96
U.S. Destination: Savannah Quantity: 4,182.00 CTN
Arrival Date: 12/01/2011 Carrier: MITSUI OSK LINE
Commodity Description
Container: TCNU7212774 Quantity: 2652
4182 CTN SHIPPING UNITS 1 - 45 96 DRY CONTAINER(S) SAID TO CONTAIN CONTAINER
TEMU8013400 SEAL 055291A 3060.0 PC 1530 CTN HTS 95030000 PLASTIC TOYS ITEM NO.
287487220 US HTS CODE 9503.00.0073 P.O. NO. 451044358 TRA MV3 ULTIMATE OPTIMUS PRIME
HUB SHIP TO CODE 990921 QTY 3060PCS / 1-1530CTNS SHIPPING UNITS 1 - 40 96 DRY
CONTAINER(S) SAID TO CONTAIN CONTAINER TCNU7212774 SEAL 055292A 18512.0 PC 2314
CTN 676.0 PC 338 CTN HTS 95030000 PLASTIC TOYS P.O. NO. 451037303 ITEM NO. 98452942F
TRA DELUXE GENERATION ASST US HTS CODE 9503.00.0073 SHIP TO CODE 990921 QTY
18512PCS / 1-2314CTNS PLASTIC TOYS P.O. NO. 451044358 ITEM NO. 287487220 TRA MV3
ULTIMATE OPTIMUS PRIME HUB US HTS CODE 9503.00.0073 SHIP TO CODE 990921 QTY 676PCS
/ 1-338CTNS VENDOR CODE ZC-1063TM SHIP TO CODE 990921 ACCORDING TO SHIPPER, "THIS
SHIPMENT CONTAINS NO WOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL" CARRIER HAS NOT VERIFIED THIS
INFORMATION.PLEASE REFER TO THE APPROPRIATE CERTIFICATION FOR DETAILS. SC
NO.8023898A11
Container: TEMU8013400 Quantity: 1530
4182 CTN SHIPPING UNITS 1 - 45 96 DRY CONTAINER(S) SAID TO CONTAIN CONTAINER
TEMU8013400 SEAL 055291A 3060.0 PC 1530 CTN HTS 95030000 PLASTIC TOYS ITEM NO.
287487220 US HTS CODE 9503.00.0073 P.O. NO. 451044358 TRA MV3 ULTIMATE OPTIMUS PRIME
HUB SHIP TO CODE 990921 QTY 3060PCS / 1-1530CTNS SHIPPING UNITS 1 - 40 96 DRY
CONTAINER(S) SAID TO CONTAIN CONTAINER TCNU7212774 SEAL 055292A 18512.0 PC 2314
CTN 676.0 PC 338 CTN HTS 95030000 PLASTIC TOYS P.O. NO. 451037303 ITEM NO. 98452942F
TRA DELUXE GENERATION ASST US HTS CODE 9503.00.0073 SHIP TO CODE 990921 QTY
18512PCS / 1-2314CTNS PLASTIC TOYS P.O. NO. 451044358 ITEM NO. 287487220 TRA MV3
ULTIMATE OPTIMUS PRIME HUB US HTS CODE 9503.00.0073 SHIP TO CODE 990921 QTY 676PCS
/ 1-338CTNS VENDOR CODE ZC-1063TM SHIP TO CODE 990921 ACCORDING TO SHIPPER, "THIS
SHIPMENT CONTAINS NO WOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL" CARRIER HAS NOT VERIFIED THIS
INFORMATION.PLEASE REFER TO THE APPROPRIATE CERTIFICATION FOR DETAILS. SC
NO.8023898A11
This Customs information for a shipment to Hasbro from Jet Fair factory of December 1, 2011 indicates that Jet Fair
was producing Hasbro Ultimate Optimus Prime figures for Hasbro, sold by Wal-Mart and other retailers.
Filthy, Rat-infested Dorms;
Workers Tortured by Bed Bugs
The company dorms are filthy, overcrowded and unhealthy. Twelve workers share each dorm room,
sleeping on six narrow bunk beds. There are 31 rooms on each floor, housing 186 people. Trash is
strewn everywhere in the hallways, which are infested with rats. The workers often bring food back from
the cafeteria, but if it is too horrible to eat, they throw the leftovers in the trash bins in the hallways. The
bottom halves of the bathroom doors are rotten, as are some of the dorm room doors.
In the summer, the dorms are stiflingly hot. Each room has two fans, which provide little if any relief.
The rooms are so damp and humid that when the workers wash their clothing and hang it up in the dorm,
it takes at least two full days to dry.
The dorms are infested with bedbugs, which torture the workers. But the company has done nothing to
address and correct the infestation.
Interviewer: “Why do you have so many
bug bites?”
Young woman: “Those are from bed bugs in
the dorm while I try to sleep
at night. They are like lice on
a cow.”
Interviewer: “Are there many?”
Young woman: “At lot! The bed bug bites
are still there, and I got more.
They are very itchy. I can’t
stand the itchiness. I can’t sleep at night and I’m tired at work the next day. I
bought all sorts of medicine, but it didn’t work.
Theft is also common in the dorms. Many workers report having their personal belongings stolen,
including money and even fruit, cups of noodles and detergent. Security guards at the dorms are no help
and may even be the ones stealing the workers’ few possessions.
Workers pay 85 RMB ($13.36) per month in dorm utility costs.
Workers Are Trapped in the Filthy Dorms
An interviewer asked a young woman worker, why didn’t she move out of the filthy and infested dorm?
Young woman Hasbro worker:
“I want to. That way there wouldn’t be any more bed bug bites. But living
outside would cost at least 300-350 RMB ($47.16-$55.02) including utilities. I
don’t care much about food, but it would still cost 400 RMB in total ($62.87).
Fifty ($7.86) for phone service, 50 RMB ($7.86) for internet, 100 RMB ($15.72)
for snacks and fruit, and 200 RMB ($31.44) for clothes. That’s 1,200 RMB
($188.63) in total. I only make 1,300 RMB ($204.34) a month, and if I meet with
some friends, then I won’t have any money left. I can’t afford the rent.”
Factory Cafeteria
“The food is pretty much like swine feed.”
-Hasbro worker
The workers’ cafeteria is located on the first and second floors in Building C. Workers cue up to receive
their food on the first floor, then carry it up to the second floor to eat. The workers are unanimous in
stating that the food is “horrible” and “appalling.” One worker summed up the quality of the food as
follows: “The food is pretty much like swine feed.”
For breakfast, the workers are served rice
vermicelli in a thin, watery soup, without oil, from
a huge caldron. The food is not only bad, but it is
not filling. The workers have to wait at least five
hours before they get a break for lunch.
Lunch is almost always the same, two vegetables
(one of which is always cabbage), served with thin
egg soup. Again, the portions are very small and
there is no oil.
Dinner is as bad as lunch. It is only on Mondays
and Fridays, twice a week, that the workers can eat fish. There is never any special food, even for
national holidays.
Workers told our interviewers that they can only dream of having a chicken drumstick to eat.
The workers have to pay 195 RMB ($30.65) per month to eat in the company cafeteria.
100+ Degree Temperatures
In the Pressing and Smelting Departments,
temperatures can become unbearably high in the
summer. On the first floor in Building E, there
are 76 plastic injection molding machines which
throw off a huge amount of heat. Temperatures
in summer can reach 100-plus degrees
Fahrenheit. Ceiling fans just blow around the
stagnant hot air.
Spray Paint Department
In the Spray Paint Department, workers believe they are
exposed to large amounts of solvents which can cause
harm. The company distributes cheap respiratory masks,
but it is so extremely hot in the summer that the workers
cannot stand to wear them.
Workers Concerned about Electronic
Workshop in Building B
The Electronics Department is located on the
third floor of Building B. Most of the job
positions require soldering tin. The workers are
concerned that the solder may be contaminated
with lead, which could be extremely harmful.
To date, management has taken no preventive
measures to guarantee the workers are not being
exposed to dangerous metals.
Hours: 70-plus Hours a Week
During the five-month peak season—July, August, September, October and part of November—the
workers routinely put in 12-hour shifts from 7:50 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week.
The standard shift is from 7:50 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with an hour break for lunch. (The workers are
compelled to begin their shift ten minutes early, at 7:50 a.m., for which they are not paid.)
The workers receive a one-hour lunch break from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m.
Monday through Saturday, the workers toil 11 hours a day, and then put in at least five hours on Sunday.
The peak season norm is to work at least 71 hours a week, and 308 hours a month. This includes 31
hours a week of overtime, which exceeds China’s legal limit on overtime by 273 percent!
The slow season is December through June, when there is very little overtime, which also means the
workers are earning just the bare-bones subsistence level wage. The only way workers can save money is
to work overtime.
The standard shift is 6.7 hours a day, six days a week, which comes to 40 hours a week and 173.16 hours
a month. (The International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) Care program has determined that a “6-day
workweek model” is legal in China.)
Workers who are single are unable to save money. Married couples who are both working can save an
average of about 200 RMB ($31.44) a month if they are very economical and thrifty, squeezing every
penny. In the course of a year, a couple can save around $377—or $188.63 each. In three years, with
both of them working, they might be able to save $1,131.
For years, all overtime was mandatory at the Jet Fair factory. It was only in 2011 that workers could
request to be excused from overtime work. If the supervisor agreed, the worker could take off. If not, she
had to work.
.
Could Newt Gingrich Be Lobbying Hasbro?
Hasbro is also exploring the benefits of gainfully employing 14 and 15-year-olds to make
their toys in developing countries.
According to Hasbro’s “Global Business Ethics Principles”: “Workers under sixteen
may be considered on a case-by-case basis when hired in accord with International
Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 138.”
It was only a short while ago that presidential candidate Gingrich suggested that high
school janitors should be fired so young students could pick up mops and start learning
the work ethic
Hasbro Supplier in Blatant Violation
of Even China’s Weak Labor Laws
Jet Fair factory management ignores China’s Labor Code.
Workers paid late: Workers sign a labor contract which stipulates that they will be paid on the
seventh of every month. But the actual payday is always after the 17th. (By law, workers are to be
paid once a month and must receive their wages within the first week of the following month.)
No fire drills, and some emergency exits are locked: The factory does not conduct fire drills in the
workshops or in the dormitories. Some emergency exits are locked—for example, on the second
floor of Building A, in the middle of the floor. Nor have the workers been trained in how to operate
the fire hydrants or fire extinguishers.
Management refuses to pay the legal severance pay: Any worker who has been employed for at
least one year at the factory is due one month’s severance pay if the worker is terminated by
management. (A common practice is to terminate workers on false charges.)
By law, the workers have the right to: -Paid sick leave -Denied by management
-Paid maternity leave -Denied by management
-Paid marriage leave -Denied by management
-Paid funeral leave -Denied by management
Cheated of vacation pay: Workers who have been at the factory for over one year are eligible by
law to receive five paid vacation days. But no one ever receives them.
Shortchanged on Medical and Social Security Insurance: Jet Fair factory management purchases
medical insurance only for some of its employees, and deducts 4 RMB (63 cents) every month from
their pay.
Management ignores other legally required Social Security programs.
Hasbro worker: “The contract says all workers shall join the social insurance programs. However,
the company deducts 4 RMB (63 cents) for medical insurance while we do not get insurance cards.
The company told us to apply for a card ourselves, but nobody knows where to apply for one. So
many employees do not have an insurance card.”
Words Are One Thing. Reality Is Another.
“We strive to conduct business throughout our supply chain in accordance with the highest ethical
standards. As a values-based company with a strong family heritage, we value the safety, wellness and
dignity of every worker. We work closely with our third party factories and licensee factories to ensure
that all Hasbro products are manufactured in safe and healthy environments that respect workers’ rights.
We require factories to be monitored to verify compliance in areas such as proper wage payments, health
and safety, and the absence of child or forced labor.
Hasbro teams in China, Hong Kong, the U.K., and the U.S. work directly on our global manufacturing
ethics program, led by the Senior Vice President of Quality Assurance, a key member of our Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee.” (Source: Hasbro Corporate Social Responsibility)
How to Cheat Workers
Management relies on “Strategy 101” to trap and cheat the workers. When work orders slow down—for
example when the Christmas rush is over—management has to find a way to fire hundreds of workers,
while at the same time cheating them of any legal severance pay they are due. Under China’s labor laws,
any worker who has worked at least one year is legally due a severance pay of one month for each year
worked.
Conveniently, the company has never distributed information regarding factory regulations for employees.
Nothing is posted on factory bulletin boards regarding these rules. When management needs to fire
hundreds of workers without paying any legal severance, they accuse the workers of not wearing their
identification badges or their proper uniforms. Male workers can be fired for having long hair. Women
may be terminated for wearing skirts. Workers who ride bikes into the factory compound can be canned.
Each year, hundreds of workers are fired without compensation for violating factory rules no one has ever
heard of.
Workers who refuse to be duped and treated like fools, who demand to be paid at least their legal
severance, can find themselves taken to a room where they are beaten by security guards. The offending
workers are then fired without any of the benefits due them for the crime of fighting.
Such beatings of workers by security guards were common for years. It has only been in this year, 2011,
that physical assaults have diminished in frequency. But some beatings still take place.
Another way to get rid of pesky workers is to transfer them to the Spray Paint Department which,
according to the workers, is the most dangerous and difficult job—and when they refuse, management
fires them without compensation.
This violates China’s Labor Contract Law, Article 87, that employers must pay severance when workers
are dismissed.
Phony Government Union Does Nothing
Workers know nothing about the “union.” It does not function and means
less than zero to the workers.
The overwhelming majority of workers are naive and innocent, knowing
nothing about the legal rights they supposedly have. There is no training or
education at the factory regarding worker rights.
“China’s Labor Law Is “Merely a Formality. It is Just for Controlling Workers,
While Companies Can Always Find Excuses to Avoid the Law.”
Interviewer: “How did you get here?
Worker (young man): “I wanted to intern at an electronics factory but didn’t find any. I saw a hiring
banner at this company. Two thousand six hundred RMB ($408.69) per month
and up is okay as a wage. New Year is coming. And I heard that toy factories
are fun and less tiring. So I ended up here.”
Interviewer: “What do you think after you started here? Is your pay that high? Are working
and living conditions and wages better than those of the factory you interned
at?”
Worker: “So much worse! Here employees basically get around 1500 RMB ($236 a
month). Accommodations and food are not covered, and the food is awful.
There are just two vegetables for every meal, and no meat at all. We have
cabbage for almost every single meal. Either cabbage or white radish, with no
oil in the dishes and the portion is so small. We hardly feel full. And there are
no recreational areas, no library or cultural or educational places. We can only
go back to the dorm after work. And the dorms are unsanitary.
Interviewer: “Do you think the implementation of the Labor Contract Law [in 2008] helps the
workers?
Worker: “I heard that the Labor Contract Law makes things better for workers, but
factories do not enforce it.”
According to this chart of organizational
structure at Jet Fair Industrial Ltd., the
company has a “Union Committee” of five
committee members and over 4,000
employees, an “Employee Committee” of
seven committee members and over 2,500
female employees and a “Communist
Youth League of China Local
Committee”.
Interviewer: “Does the company sign labor contracts with the workers?”
Worker: “Yes. I applied on one day and the following day at 8:00 a.m. in the morning,
they brought me to the training room to sign it. A recruiter told all the
applicants that we should write whatever he said. After we filled out the
contract, we started working at our new positions alongside senior workers. I
feel like signing this contract doesn’t do much. The contract says payday is the
7th
of every month, but the actual payday is after the 17th
. The contract says all
workers shall join the social insurance program. But the company deducts
four RMB [63 cents] for medical insurance, while we do not get insurance
cards. The company told us to apply for a card ourselves, but nobody knows
where to go to apply for one. So many employees do not have an insurance
card.
“About the labor law, most of the people know nothing about it and don’t know
how to defend our rights. The law is merely a formality. It’s just for
controlling the workers, while companies can always find excuses to avoid the
law.”
Recruitment referral fee is
strictly prohibited in this
factory. Employees who
have paid referral fee can
file a complaint to workshop
directors or managers.
11 days of national
holidays in a year.
Photography is not
allowed in workshops.
Violations will be
investigated.
One day off for every seven days.
Complementary time for work
hours on Sundays.
Overtime is all
voluntary. Those who
wish to opt out from
overtime can fill out a
notice form to their
linemen.
According to Labor
Law, employees who
want to resign can get a
resignation form from
and apply to directors
one month in advance.
Wages
$1.18 an hour and $204.34 a month
The base wage is 1,300 RMB a month, or $204.34.
Base Wage (1,300 RMB per month)
$ 1.18 per hour
$ 47.16 a week (40 hours)
$ 207.34 a month
$ 2,452.14 a year
Overtime is paid at 150 percent of the base wage, or $1.80 an hour. Overtime on Sunday is not paid as
double time. When workers toil on Sunday, they are not paid, but can instead take comp time, which is
not legal.
It is unheard of in China, but workers at the Jet Fair factory are paid just the minimum wage. All other
factories pay several bonuses, such as a full-attendance bonus, a stipend to work the night shift, a
seniority award, or a position stipend for those who work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions, such as in
a spray paint department or in smelting and soldering departments.
The single benefit provided at Jet Fair is that employees who have worked over a year receive a 300 RMB
($47.16) stipend.
After deductions for food (195 RMB, or $30.65); dorm utilities (85 RMB, or $13.36) and medical
insurance (4 RMB, or $0.63), the workers have a take-home wage of 1,016 RMB ($159.70) per month,
which amounts to $36.85 a week and 92 cents an hour.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in China is averaging around six percent, which is definitely eating into
any nominal wage gains. (In the U.S., the CPI for urban consumers is around 3.5 percent.)
One worker told us: “Although the minimum wage increases every year, it definitely does not catch up
with the increase in the cost of living. Factories in Guangdong seem to always pay workers according
to the minimum wage. We can only maintain a minimum basic standard of living. I’m afraid I’ll
never make a decent living in my life!”
The Longer You Work, the Worse It Gets!
Ms. “X” is considered a senior employee at the Jet Fair factory. She started working at the factory in
March 2006, and has now been at the factory for five-and-a-half years. In these five-and-a-half years of
work, her life has only gotten worse. She started out working on the assembly line, but since she is
nearing her forties, management knew they could switch her to the most hated job in the factory—the
spray paint department. Everyone knows it is hazardous to constantly breathe in the paint fumes.
Her husband works and lives on a primitive construction site. Ms. X visits him once a week on Saturday
afternoon. They splurge and spend $1.73 to $1.88 to buy some inexpensive meat to make a soup. They
have a small cooking pot.
The other six days, Ms. X stays in the dorm. After work, she sits in the dorm and knits. She is very
frugal, as she and her husband save whatever money they earn to send to their son.
Interviewer: “Do you get seniority rights?”
Ms. X: “No. I’ve worked here for so many years. I get nothing but 300 RMB [$47.16]
bonus each year. Nothing else. I get paid the same as a new worker. Just 1,300
RMB [$204.34 a month]. There is nothing I can do. I’m old, so it’s hard to get a
job. My son is still in school.
I would like to stop working in a foreign city and suffering so much.”
In China, everyone knows that if you work in the export factories producing for the U.S. or Europe, you
will be worn out by the time you are 40 years old.
A pay stub of November
2011 smuggled out of the
Jet Fair factory.
What Hasbro Says May Not Be What Hasbro Does
“We have a deep-rooted commitment to treating our employees humanely and with
dignity and respect. We promote the same virtues for factory personnel at our third party
and licensee factories. The Hasbro Code of Conduct, Hasbro Global Business Ethics
Principles and International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) Code of Business Practices
guide our ethical processes in both our owned and non-owned manufacturing facilities.”
“We treat employees with dignity and respect, and we expect the same of our vendors.”
“Hasbro’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) reflects our desire
to play a part in building a safe and sustainable world for future generations.”
“Health and Safety – Facilities shall ensure that all employees have a healthy and safe
environment, including in dormitories, where provided.”
“Abuse: Discrimination – Facility employees shall be treated with dignity and respect.”
“Freedom of Association – Hasbro recognizes all employees’ right to choose (or not) to
affiliate with legally sanctioned organizations or associations without unlawful
interference.”
“Monitoring – Hasbro shall have the right to conduct periodic on-site visits of working
and living conditions, including audits of production records and practices? of wage,
hour and payroll information maintained by facilities, to review and ensure compliance
with these principles.”
#320960450/CPG series race car version (English version) carton label
Material: K3A
Measurement: 14*11 ¼ * 7 ¾ (L*W*H outside) This is production measurement.
Printing: 3C (black GCMI 90 /PMS Black + purplish red GCMI 49 / PMS PURPLE+804Orange)
Code: 00653569621652
Packing: (8pcs/CTN)
32144 / 33291 = 5:3
Date: 2011-3-22
Addition information for carton label
(1) “This end up” and the arrow in the front and back carton label should be black.
(2) Each side has white characters with purplish red background.
TOYS
(3) Each side has white characters with black background.
ACTION FIGURES
Name of the product “TRA MV3 DELUXE ASST” should be purplish red.
A carton label instruction of an
order for toy race cars.
Photo of a cancelled order smuggled out of the Jet Fair factory in August 2011. The order was for “Newborn series three-in-
one deluxe”, to be shipped to Hasbro Inc. in the U.S. See next page for translation.
[Translation]
JET FAIR INDUSTRIAL, LTD.
Shipping Order
TO: [NAMES] DATE: 8/5/2011
FROM: PAKRICK NG
CC: JUTCHISON LOGISTICS
Shipping Notice Number: 111331 Client: TOMY
Client PO NO.: 0458058153 (0451034544) Commodity Report: Commodity inspection
Product Name and Number Quantity Quantity
(PCS)
Quantity of
Boxes
Each box
(N.W)
Each box
(G.W.)
Each box
(CBM)
Total
Measurement
(CBM)
1. 379720000 Newborn series
three-in-one deluxe (English)
4 4260 1065 2 2.51 0.0389 41.375
2.
3.
Destination: U.S.A.
“HASBRO brand”
Total 4,260 1,065 2,130 2,673 41.38
Carton label:
**See the attached for carton label**
To: Huang, Jian-Chang
Upon client’s request, please hand over the attached
COC certificate to the driver when loading shipments.
(Please contact Patrick if you do not receive the
attachment.)
A certificate issued by the client is required for item
379720000. Please contact me to confirm whether the
certificated is included after loading and before closing
the doors.
1) Booking No.: LINE-CHO-
2) S.S.: A VESSEL
CLSG: 15 AUG 2011
SHIPPING WINDOW: 15 AUG 2011
****to NVO storage Ltd.
[address]
TEL: (755) 2520-0658 / FAX: (755) 2520-1042
Shipping method: LCL [less than container load)
Container count and measurement:
Shipper: HUTCHISON LOGISTICS Arrival time: 08:00 AM
Shipping Date: 8/15/2011 Departure port: Yantian
Please process commodity
inspection ASAP.
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
(formerly National Labor Committee)
5 Gateway Center, 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, U.S.A.
Office +1 412.562.2406 | Fax +1 412.562.2411
[email protected] | www.globallabourrights.org