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Kashmir: 80 Children killed in 8 months

China: "Made in China"

In-Depth Analysis
China's Toy Factories;
Labour Laws in China

Working Towards a Solution
Buy Sweat Free Toys
Support the NLC Campaign

Important Links

(Making Austin Powers dolls at a toy  factory in the delta city of Dongguan in China. Source: Time Asia)

 

Kashmir: 80 Children killed in 8 months

Nearly 80 children have been killed in the past 8 months as militants continue to seek out Muslim families supposed to be allies of the government in Indian administered Kashmir. Children are used as soft targets by militants to 'teach' families a lesson.

Apart from being used to prove a point, children are commonly caught in crossfire. Those not victim to either of these, are burdened with the continual reality of war and/or the death of their parents.

Kashmir has more than 30,000 orphans, majority are children of civilians caught in crossfire. Children in Kashmir also show a high level of mental trauma because of the war that they come to interact with since their childhood.

Nothing can the change the lives of children in Kashmir but a restoration of complete peace and harmony in the region. With the continuing tension between the Indian and Pakistani government, this too seems a far flung dream.

Related Article: 3 children killed by Islamic militant gunmen  in Kashmir

"Made in China": Toys for Children, by Children, this Christmas.

A TOY STORY:

China makes 70 per cent of the world's toys.

Its exports, now worth $7.5bn (pounds 4.7bn) annually, have doubled in eight years.

China exports nearly $1bn of plastic Christmas trees, ornaments and lights, tinsel, plastic angels and bells, Santa suits, framed pictures of Jesus and Bible scenes.

Toy factories in china are owned by the likes of Disney, Mattel (makers of Barbie), Hasbro, McDonald's, and Warner Bros.

All major US retail shops carry toys manufactured in these factories: Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Target and the like.

A TOY WORKER'S STORY:

Average age of a worker in a typical Chinese toy factory: between 12 and 15.

Typical wage of workers in Asian toy factories: from as little as 6 cents an hour up to $2.40 (U.S.) a day

Typical number of hours worked in a day during busy periods: up to 19

Typical number of days worked per week: 6

Young Workers work all day long in 104-degree temperatures, handling toxic glues, paints, and solvents. Workers weakened by illness and pregnant workers, who are supposed to have legal protection, are forced to resign.

Typical profile of workers in these factories are single young women migrants from rural areas to the cities in search of jobs. Workers live in dormitories built above the factory. 16 workers share one small dorm room.

Workers conditions during peak seasons such as Christmas are worse than other times in the year.

"The working hours are long and the pressure is terrible. My team has to finish 45,000 units every day. During the peak season we usually work until midnight every day. We have no day off. Now we are working a night shift, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., because of a big new order. The overnight work avoids the inspection of the client, but it makes us very tired. We can't help dozing off, and for that we are fined 30 to 40 rmb' (US $3.62 to $4.83)."

Worker from the spraying department in a company that produces "Happy Meal" toys for McDonald's ('Toys of Misery')

In-Depth Analysis

China's Toy Factories

(Workers piecing together hockey and soccer players in a toy factory in China. Source: Ken Georgetti)

China has 6,000 toy manufacturers, largely funded by foreign companies and clustered in the Pearl river delta, or Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.

Chinese workers make half of the world's Mattel Barbie dolls but of the $10 retail price, $8 goes on transport, marketing, retailing and wholesale, and profit for Mattel.

Of the remaining $2, $1 is shared by the management and transportation in China, 65 cents shared by the raw materials. The remaining 35 cents is earned by producers in China for providing the factory sites, labour and electricity.

This leaves the companies with large margins of profit from each toy and the workers with sub-minimal wages.

In response to criticism, toy multinationals have:

• Adopted codes of conduct that prohibit the use of child labour in factories they sign agreements with to make their toys.

• Set up 'Independent' Monitored factories.

However, Human Rights groups say none of these are working because:

• Reviews of factory conditions are not conducted by third-party monitors.

• Factories are warned beforehand about reviews.

•  Workers in monitored plants are generally reluctant to speak out about abuses for fear of losing their jobs.

Studies have been conducted to reveal the inefficiency of the strategies used by multinationals in curbing child labour and improving the working conditions in toy factories. It is also known that cheap, surplus and unskilled labour available in China makes it possible for toy companies to make huge profits from the blood and sweat of workers in these factories.

Over the past few years, hundreds of workers have perished in fires in China's toy factories and their dormitories. In1993, 50 workers got burned inside a handicrafts factory when a fire broke out they could not escape because the windows were fitted with heavy wire mesh and most exits were locked. After the fire, the bodies of 50 of the victims were found behind a locked gate. Raw materials and finished products partly blocked the staircase and exit that was open. In an effort to avoid adverse publicity after the fire, local authorities held 50 or so survivors as virtual prisoners for several days in a local hall, banning them from contacting friends or relatives.

At one factory, in the year 2000, 100 workers were found to have contracted Hepatitis B, a serious liver disease. In 2001, another 50 to 60 workers were also found to have the disease. Hepatitis B can be spread from sharp exposed edges at work and from close household contact such as an overcrowded dorm with 16 people sharing a small room. All the infected workers were immediately fired without a single cent of compensation. They were told to take a vacation. One worker explained it like this: "They told you to take a rest--we all know it means you are fired."

Multinationals continue to deny the use of child labour in their factories in China.

Mattel :

"We're probably the most transparent consumer products company out there. (But) we don't allow outside organizations to come into our factories at any time, just because of the proprietary nature. First and foremost we're a business." Lisa Marie Bongiovanni, director of corporate communications

Disney :

"We require companies we do business with to sign a code of conduct. Our goal is universal compliance. (But) every country has a different culture and expectations and things they don't see as being against their rules. It's not as cut-and-dried as 'Why not?'" Sandra Haley, spokesperson

Irwin :

"Irwin strives to market and manufacture products with great care, keeping in mind our ultimate end user, children. It is absolutely critical to our business and our ethical standards." Cyndi Henderson, spokesperson, via e-mail

Hasbro :

"The conditions under which our products are manufactured have been a matter of serious and long-term concern to Hasbro. If there was a problem, we would not walk away from factories we work with. We prefer to correct any issues that may be present." Wayne Charness, senior vice-president.

It is evident from research done by groups such as the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee and other interested parties that toy multinationals blatantly violate children's rights and international human rights in their factories across the world. Yet there is little pressure on them to accept and address these violations.

Labour Laws in China

China has one of the worst records related to labour rights violations. It has also recorded some of the worst industrial accidents in the past few years.

In spite of being a signatory of the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which allows the free formation of trade unions, china has only registered trade union,  the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which is said to be the mouth-piece of the communist party. The Xinhua news agency reported, after china ratified the ICESCR, that the right to form or join trade unions of one's choice would be subject to existing Chinese labour laws.

The Labour Law of the People's Republic of China came into effect on the 1st of January 1995.

Article 15 of the Law bans employers from employing children under the age of 16. Article 36 sets the basic work week of up to 44 hours and work day up to 8 hours with at least one day off.

The law does not set a minimum wage and allows this discretion to the employer "according to the characteristics of its production and businesses and economic efficiency".

However, in the hybrid called 'socialist market economy', China's labour law are frequently and grossly violated.

Working Towards a Solution

Support the Campaign by the National Labour Committee to keep the pressure on US toy companies to do the rights thing and respect labour rights in China.

Important Links

How Hasbro, Mattel, McDonald's, and Disney Manufacture Their Toys- A report by the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee.

Toys of Misery- A Report on the the condition of children working in the toy factories in China by the National Labour Committee.

The Secret Lives of Toys- An account on the toy industry by a journalist Sarah Cox.