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Nike Criticizes Labor Rights Violations In Chinese Factories

2008/3/17 0:00:00 10384

Although labor law has been pushed forward in China, Nike said that the key problems such as labor environment and management can not meet company standards still exist. In the first corporate responsibility report, the production giant of sports shoes and sportswear concentrates on a series of problems, including inappropriate management, excessive overtime work and labourers using fake archives to find jobs. Nike said they have decided to issue a "national special report" because the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games attracted too much attention to China. Nike spokesman Alan Marx said the problem highlighted in the report is "consistent with the problems we face globally." But the report also states that "corporate responsibility is a relatively new and rapidly developing business practice in China, so there is a great difference in its adoption and understanding." China is very important to Nike: it is estimated that at least 1/3 of Nike shoes are made in China. Critics believe that the report also continues to reveal Nike's problems in labor rights and interests. Geoff, a labor activist, said Nike still had strong power in various regions, where the labor force could not or could not form a trade union, and managers could not negotiate with workers to meet their demands. "Just like anywhere else, they cling to their wishful thinking." Susan, a professor at George Washington University, said that worries about Chinese workers are still serious at some point. "All worries come from the fact that enterprises do not enforce labor laws in China," she said. One aspect of the implementation of the new labor law this year is the employment, dismissal of temporary workers and the formulation of more standardized labor contracts in other forms of employment. Another extension of the law is anti discrimination protection for migrant workers and employees suffering from infectious diseases. These two types of workers who are prejudiced and injured have no previous legal protection. The report shows that there are some problems in Nike's contract settings, including management does not understand and implement Nike's minimum standards. Other issues in the report include forgery of salary records and practical experience to cover overdue and miscalculated wages, which helps Nike maintain a low wage level. In many cases, the problems exposed are the use of fake identity cards by workers to fight for limited posts. The self-assessment process found 167 cases, which are smaller than those with the lowest working age but who are shown to be 18 or 18 years old.