With half of the world's finished goods now being manufactured in China it is high time more international attention was paid to working conditions in the factories and workshops involved. A report by China Labour Watch, a New York based research and advocacy organisation, into exploitative conditions in major multinational firms manufacturing toys in China underlines what is at stake.
It finds that wages are low, benefits non-existent, work environments dangerous and living conditions humiliating in the plants examined. Basic legal minimums laid down by the Chinese authorities do not apply and there is little evidence of this being monitored by them or the companies. Chinese trade unions are still adjusting to a new role in what is officially described as a socialist market economy, when they can have a more independent impact on working conditions than they had in state companies. They remain weak and uncertain of their powers. In fact only one-fifth of foreign companies based in China recognise trade unions there.
Reports such as this publicise such information, bringing it to the attention of consumers throughout the world. In doing so they can shame the companies involved and embarrass the Chinese authorities into taking action. It is an uphill task, given the huge cost advantages for consumers and the profits to be made. Parallel and associated fears about the safety of toys produced in some factories have led to millions of them being withdrawn in recent weeks. Such quality control mechanisms are an essential part of an effective manufacturing system, and Chinese authorities have very good reason to co-operate with them to ensure the country's reputation is protected.
The same principle should apply to the labour and working conditions in China as to the commodities produced there for world markets. It is difficult to keep track of these in such a tremendous period of change. Industrialisation on this scale is historically unique, concentrating into a couple of decades what took centuries elsewhere. A huge supply of labour from China's rural regions is driven by the prospect of higher living standards, despite the primitive conditions many migrant workers have to endure. Average wages have been rising by up to 15 per cent per annum, but there are huge regional variations and many stories of lengthy working days, as documented in these reports. We need to remember the human suffering involved as well as the benefits brought to consumers the world over from Chinese industriousness.