10 MISERY UPDATED: GLOBAL-TECH IN CHINA
Brutal and Illegal Sweatshop Conditions Persist at Global-Tech Imagine if Mr. Romney had spoken up regarding the deplorable and inhuman factory conditions he saw in China. But instead, he came and went with no impact, other than growing his investments and wealth.
Grueling 105- to 112-Hour Work Weeks
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s of August 2012, workers at Global-Tech were still toiling grueling 15 to 16-hour shifts, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 or 11:30 p.m. seven days a week. Workers were routinely at the factory 105 to 112 hours a week! And all overtime is mandatory.
ing daily 14 ½ to 15 ½ hour shifts. They are now at the factory 101 ½ to 108 ½ hours a week.
Work Hours —Grueling and Illegal—
8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Work, 3 ½ hours 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lunch, 1 hour 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Work, 4 hours 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Dinner, 1 hour 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 or 11:30 p.m. Work ½ regular hour, Overtime 4 ½ to 5 ½ hours
7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 or 11:30 p.m.
Work, 4 hours Lunch, 1 hour Work, 4 hours Dinner, 1 hour Overtime, 5 to 6 hours
Not including the two one-hour meal breaks each shift, the workers were toiling 91 to 98 hours a week, including the regular 40 hours of work each week, plus the added 51 to 58 hours of obligatory overtime — which exceeded China’s legal limit on permissible overtime by 514 to 598 percent! It was only in September 2012 that the standard work shifts were cut back by half an hour, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 or 11:30 p.m., meaning the workers are now toil-
Current Working Hours 87.5 to 94.5 Hour Work Week (as of September 2012)
The current obligatory working hours still exceed China’s legal limit on permissible overtime by 472 to 556 percent. Global-Tech also routinely violates China’s law on the “Regulation of Wages.” In Guangdong Province it is mandatory that workers’ pay stubs clearly document all regular and overtime hours — including weekend hours worked during the month, which GlobalTech management blatantly fails to do.
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights