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

The working environmental problems of the manufacturing differ depending on the kind of
manufacturing taking place at the workplace. From a general point of view it can be said that
those working for the supplier of raw material are harder hit by the working environmental
problems due to noxious chemicals in the manufacturing of metal or plastics, than employed
in the assembly factories. But there are also health hazards in the assembly work such the
fumes from glue, dust, heat, noise and hazardous paint and adhesive solvents.
Worries for the future, the economy and the health situation due to unsure employment as
well as the lack of insurances, are destroying the health of many migrant workers, according
to the organisation ICO 34 . If a migrant worker falls ill for a longer period, he or she has to go
back to his or her hometown. Any other solution would not be economically sustainable since
the migrant workers are not covered by any social insurances 35 .
Anita Chan, researcher, specialised in labour law issues in China, tells us about her reactions
when she visited a hospital in Shenzhen, which mainly receive migrant workers who have
hurt themselves in the factories around the economic zone of Shenzhen.
– We would believe that somebody who has lost his fingers would think of it as something
unusual. But it was incredible to see these workers who were joking and talking. It is that
common to lose a finger that they don't take it that seriously, says Anita Chan.
The situation of the trade unions
All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the only trade union that is allowed in
China. ACFTU has 120 million members and believes itself to be the word's biggest trade
union organisation. The international trade union movement on the contrary agrees on the fact
that ACFTU is to be regarded more as a Government organ for labour issues rather than a
separate trade union organisation. ACFTU is entirely run by the Chinese state which chooses
representatives all the way down to the local level and decides what the union shall think and
what actions it shall take 36 . Its main task is to strengthen the party and the government.
– According to the law the workers can choose their trade union representatives locally, but
the problem is that they then must belong to ACFTU and this union is controlled by the party
staff, both at local level, district level and further up, says Parry Leung at HKCIC.
The union often stands more on the employers side than on that of the workers, according to
Parry Leung. During the past two years the authorities of Guangdong have concentrated on
the forming of unions at the workplaces in the province. But this has been done top down
without any participation from the workers 37 .
During our case study visit to Guangdong several plants stated that there was one union at the
workplace, but none of these trade unions had anything to say about the salaries, working
hours or the working environment. Instead the union often organised entertainment for the
workers. The only complaint that the union was said to pass on in the plants was regarding the
food. The ICO has carried out a study, which showed that none of 216 workers interviewed
directed themselves to the union if they had a problem at their workplace 38 .
Elisabeth Tang, Chief Executive at the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, HKCTU,
does not think that foreign trade unions should waste their time on collaborating with
ACFTU.
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