At Wal-Mart, Christmas ornaments are cheap, and so are the lives of the young workers in China who make them.

The Guangzhou Huanya Gift company describes itself as being “among the top three Christmas ornament producers in mainland China,” with “long term, friendly, collaborative relationships with industry leaders Wal-Mart…” There are 8,000 workers in the factory.

Grueling Hours: Ten to 12 to 15-hour shifts, seven days a week are the norm during the long, eight-month busy season. Workers can go for months without a single day off. At a minimum, workers are at the factory an average of 84 ¼ hours a week, while toiling 77 hours. However, at least half the workers, some 4,000 people, are routinely at the factory 105 ¼ hours a week and working 95 hours, including 55 hours of overtime, which exceeds China’s legal limit by 562 percent. Any working daring to take a Sunday off will be docked 2 ½ days’ wages as punishment.

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The legal minimum wage in Guangzhou, China is 55 cents an hour, but factory management respects neither the minimum wage nor the mandatory overtime premium. Workers are paid by a piece rate, with some workers earning just 26 cents an hour, which is half the legal wage.

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Management also illegally withholds one month’s wages from each worker, making it almost impossible for workers to leave the factory without forfeiting that month’s wages.

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The 12 and 13-year-old workers hired during the summer were required to work the same 10, 12 and 15-hour shifts, seven days a week, as the older workers, including the all-night shifts from 5:45 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. or later the following morning.

Workers Handling Potentially Dangerous Chemicals: Workers in the Spray Paint department lack even the most rudimentary protective gear—going without gloves or the cheapest disposable respiratory masks—while handling potentially dangerous paints, “gold” dust, thinners and solvents. Workers who develop serious skin rashes or sores have no choice but to leave the factory, as management will not pay medical bills or for days missed.



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Prison-like discipline and fines control the workers’ lives. Workers can be fined for just about anything. Management even has a receipt book to keep track of the individuals fined. Many workers were fined 30 to 50 RMB ($3.98-$6.63) for missing a day. Another worker was fined 20 RMB ($2.65)—the loss of nearly five hours’ wages—for placing large Christmas ornaments on the floor.


Oops! Sorry... I didn't mean for you to think about the poor workers. Quick - look at the pretty baubles!






You can see them here, too...



National Labor Relations Committee -- A Wal-Mart Christmas. Brought to you from a Sweatshop in China