4. Case study: Top Toy, Brio and Coop in China - Swedwatch

China. After consulting with trade unionists and workers, the employer may exceptionally get
a permit to prolong the overtime work on specific occasions provided they have specific
needs during a shorter period 20 . According to Parry Leung at HKCIC this exception is
however not aimed at industry manufacturing, but solely within for instance the health or
transport sector.
All employed shall according to the Chinese legislation be covered by four different social
insurances: pension insurance, an accident insurance, a medical insurance 21 and
unemployment insurance 22 . According to the law, employers and workers shall conclude
employment agreements in writing 23 . Children under the age of 16 must not work under the
Chinese legislation. There are also specific rules protecting young workers, between the age
of 16 – 18 years, from hard working conditions. According to the Chinese constitution
modified in 1982 the workers' right to come out on strike in China is strongly restricted and in
practice strikes are forbidden in China.
According to Liu Kaiming, CEO of the Shenzhen based organisation Institute of
Contemporary Observation, ICO, the labour legislation is not adapted to the new situation of
big private ownership 24 . The labour legislation is often based on the perception that there is no
conflict between the employers and the workers, in spite the fact that 80 percent of the
employers, in for example Shenzhen, at present are private. It is a belief of ICO that many
laws therefore are not pertinent anymore and that the employers for example should have the
right to go on strike. Furthermore Kaiming points out that many employed are helpless before
a legal system which is perceived standing on the side of the employer, since the plant owners
even often have political ramifications locally in China 25 .
”A head of the local ministry of labour tells us (the ICO, auth. notes) that if all laws were
followed strictly, thousands of plants would be forced to close down and this would have an
influence on the local economy and the social stability. Therefore the ministry of labour has
chosen to turn a blind eye on illegal activities from the investors.” ICO believes that the
authorities are sacrificing the poor migrant workers' rights in order not to risk investments 26 .
The Environmental situation in the Pearl River Delta
There are about 6000 factories along the Dongjiang river in the Pearl River Delta. Many of the
factories have operations influencing the environment, such as corrosion protection, colouring and
tanning of leather.
Greenpeace Hong Kong estimates that about 70 - 80 percent of the industrial waste and 90 percent of
the household waste is released without cleaning into the Dongjiang river.
Dongjiang river supplies almost 20 million people with freshwater.
Greenpeace have by testing the water quality found mercury levels 280 higher than the state
requirement. The levels of led and phenols were higher than the state requirement levels.
Sources:
Liu, Howard, Greenpeace, Hong Kong, 2004-05-27 och www.greenpeace.org.hk, 2004-01-22
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