the best smiles are the ones you lead to
I had a dream that my friend had a
strong-bad pop up book,
it was the book of my dreams.
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."
Written by:
Last week a story on NWI by Ian Williams of Channel 4 news looked at the poor conditions that many rural migrant workers in China face in the endless factories of coastal China. The factories are largely responsible for China's economic miracle but the migrant workers experience few benefits of the success. There are increasing concerns over the number of workers that are injured in the factories often as a direct result of their 7 day a week, gruelling work schedule. One lawyer is taking on the big companies and fighting for migrants rights to compensations for such injuries. The Chinese authorities appear divided on what to do with him.
(...)
In Shenzen, close to Hong Kong, there are thousands of factories and millions of migrant workers toil in deplorable conditions. The area is seen as China's economic powerhouse but the conditions are deplorable and accidents are frequent. Zhou says that on his tally there are around 10,000 accidents per year, usually involving losing fingers or limbs. He believes that this is an underestimation of the actual number.
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
Written by:
Workers' safety big casualty in booming Shenzhen
More and more workers are losing their limbs in industrial accidents because of lax safety, and are then sacked or poorly compensated
Victims of poor safety standards. This is what poor safety standards can cause. Losing their arms while working in factories in China's Special Economic Zone in Shenzhen, the young men have paid a heavy price as breakneck economic development takes it toll. -- AFP
SHENZHEN -- Mr Fu Xulin had been in his job making Father Christmas toys at a Shenzhen factory for only 24 days, when his hand was ripped off by a moulding machine.
He was rushed to hospital where doctors told him the hand could be reattached but surgery would cost around 100,000 yuan (S$20,500).
"My boss told the doctor to just cut my hand off because he didn't want to spend that kind of money,7quot; he explained.
The factory owner covered Mr Fu's 9,000 yuan (S$1,845) medical expenses and offered him 33,000 yuan (S$6,765) in compensation for his lost hand but then locked him in a room at the factory when he refused to accept the offer.
Without the help of lawyer Zhou Litai, his case would have likely sunk into oblivion like thousands of others in a country where labour standards have been trampled underfoot in the pursuit of economic development.
The lawyer, who has made a life's work out of standing up for the rights of workers from China's impoverished hinterland provinces, lives in a ramshackle house on the outskirts of Shenzhen, together with 30 accident victims.
"Although it is against the law, most victims of industrial accidents are simply dismissed from their jobs so they have no way to feed or clothe themselves afterwards, let alone take a case to court," he explained.
Since he began fighting for higher compensation for industrial accidents in Shenzhen's courts, he has fed and clothed about 80 penniless workers and landed himself deeply in debt.
"I feel happy that I have forced the local government to take worker's safety more seriously," he said.
But labour standards in Guangdong, which was the first province opened to foreign investment, remain poor and are steadily worsening as laid-off workers from state-owned factories stream into the job market.
"Labour conditions are getting poorer in China as more workers in the state sector lose their jobs and local governments cut corners to attract foreign investment," Mr Apo Leong, a labour activist with Asia Monitor Resource Centre in Hongkong, explained.
Other law firms will not touch the cases he handles for fear of being disbarred by the local authorities, and the lawyer is regarded with suspicion by the government.
But for young men and women living with him and waiting for their cases to come to court, he is their only hope. --AFP
Written by:
Shenzhen: Italian supervisor beats workers protesting salary cut
The firm’s sales director says: “An exaggerated incident. This is not a wage cut but a redistribution of the salary grid”. The workers charge: “They are racist. They treat us like slaves.”
Shenzhen (AsiaNews) – More than 3,000 employees of the DeCoro sofa company took to the streets of Shenzhen yesterday to protest against one of their supervisors, an Italian who they claim maltreated three of their colleagues in a dispute over wages.
Contacted by AsiaNews, Giovanni Prati, the firm’s sales director, said “the scuffle broke out after three workers who were fired tried to get back into the factory by climbing onto a truck. Our supervisor was threatened and the incident broke out then”.
According to the Hong Kong media, yesterday morning, the workers marched from the factory in Pingshan industrial estate to a highway. The protesters shouted slogans like “Enough violence”, “Restore justice” and “Protect our human rights", however they were dispersed by riot police armed with shields and clubs.
One worker, Liang Tian, claimed that the company tried to make the workers accept a 20% cut in their wages on pain of dismissal. Liang said he tried to reason with the supervisor who however lost patience and hit him. "I was the first to be beaten. He pulled me up and punched me hard in my stomach. I was knocked out for a few seconds. He stamped on my face while I was lying on the ground. It was really humiliating.” Another worker, Li Fangwei, said it was not the first time they had been maltreated: “They regularly beat Chinese workers. They are like wolves. They are racists and treat us like slaves.”
Written by:
13 August 2001
Young Chinese men are increasingly becoming victims of forced labour as economic necessity forces them to migrate to other provinces in China where they have been promised well paid jobs in brick factories or stone quarries.
An article by Bruce Gilley published in this week's Far Eastern Economic Review (16 August 2001) recounts how 27 men were forced to work as slaves, for 12 hours a day and no pay, in a brick factory in Dingzhou, China. One of the men who tried to escape was caught, dragged back to the camp and beaten to death in front of the other men. It was only on 22 May 2001, after one worker managed to evade the guards, that local labour officials were informed and arrived to arrest the manager and free the men. The workers had been enslaved there for more than one year.
This is not an isolated case. In February 2001, the local newspaper, Dahe Daily, reported that officials in Zhengzhou, Henan province, tried to free 30 slaves from an illegal coal pit, but were turned away by 20 armed guards and had to return the next day with armed police. The same paper later reported that another coal pit was closed in the area and 16 slave labourers, whose ages ranged between 14 and 73 were released.
In May 2001, five women, who were being forced to work without pay at an industrial materials polishing factory, escaped during an electricity blackout, according to a report in the Yanshan Metropolis News. The five migrant women had been working alongside 30 local women who were paid normally and free to leave.
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
Written by: firetom
Do you mean that slave labor in China therefore is justified?
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
Written by: FireTom
Still, my boots were made in China... my PC will definately have some components inside, made in China... etc. am I therefore a hippocrate?
A strong moral and ethical stance is one thing, but bottom line is that we have to find our (individual) balance and a way to survive without surrendering our principles...
I had a dream that my friend had a
strong-bad pop up book,
it was the book of my dreams.
Let's relight this forum
"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
Using the keywords [china supporting slave labour] we found the following existing topics.