From what you read and hear in the media and from what we have studied in this course, the conditions for a worker in China are dire. Instead of focusing on the negative, I wanted to share a more positive experience.
My husband’s company produces office furniture. Their original focus was on office chairs. They mainly use factories in Taiwan for this production. My husband was hired to assist in the development of a case goods (desk, bookshelves, conference tables, etc) line.
His most recent business trip China was from March 18- 28, 2008. The main purpose of his visits is to check the quality of the products.
They use three different factories across China for the productions. This is due to the quantity of merchandise needed. Of the three factories, the plant located in Liuzhou seems to provide the best working conditions. It is a private owned company, but it provides housing with dormitories and food in a cafeteria for its employees. This is a picture of new dorms being built.
In the other picture you can see that uniforms are provided too.My husband has noted with each trip there is a new piece of equipment in the factory. However, some machines are still out-dated. Most of the work is done by hand. Note that while finishing the furniture they are wearing any safety equipment to protect them from the fumes.
The factories do not have air-conditioning. In some of the other plants they resolve the heat issues of the summer by only having three walls to the plant. This also provides some ventilation from the finishing fumes.New labor laws went into affect January 1. The new law provides that, “employers cannot make staff to work overtime for three hours a day, and overtime cannot exceed 36 hours per month… employees should be paid double time if they work at weekends.”
Although I feel that this example of working conditions in China is not the norm, let’s hope it is a trend for the future.
Works cited:
China Passes a Sweeping Labor Law
China enacts new labour law amid rising discontent
Workers complain about overtime fix
5 comments:
Hi Angie.
It is good to see something positive. But I would like to add a note to the furniture business in China. My mother worked in a furniture plant in NC for over 30 years, she was one year away from retiring and the company packed up and moved to China. It took her pension, insurance, sense of worth and left her unemployed at 61 years old. She lost 30 years of hard work, because "Made in the USA" isn't enough when profits are considered.
Kevin
Angie-
Thanks for sharing the first-hand experience of the workers. After reading so MANY negative stories about workers conditions in the online feeds, it's nice to read a more positive one. Compared to other conditions I have read about, I think these workers are very lucky to be working for this company your husband works with.
Kevin,
Ironically from what I've been reading, China's experiencing much of the same outsourcing that North Carolina has experienced. Multinationals - ever concerned with high profits and cheaply made (in more than one sense of the word) goods - are moving the factories to even lower-wage countries, such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Also, because, as you note, quality has suffered, Chinese companies are actually beginning to outsource to...the U.S.! And several of them already have opened in North Carolina. The organization for which I work is going to China in a couple of months in an attempt to bring more high-wage jobs to the state.
Gina
Angie,
It's good to have some first-hand verification of what I've been reading and hearing in the news. It sounds like your husband's company is trying not only to make a good product, but to do it in a way that maintains human dignity.
That was a nice post! I agree with everyone else...it is nice to hear something positive. Your husband is very fortunate to get to travel abroad. I've always wanted to visit China...have you ever been with him?
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