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Chinese companies are making an effort to respond to allegations that they are violating human rights, according to the East Asia researcher of the Hong Kong Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Roddy Shaw Kwok-wah.
Kwok-wah revealed that 13 electronics companies in Shenzhen had been accused by Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehaviour, a Hong Kong non-governmental organization, of widespread abuses, including child labour, excessive work hours and pregnancy discrimination. But three of the five factories accused of the worst violations had responded when approached, and the centre followed up by seeking comments from companies sourcing from the non-responding plants, including Hewlett-Packard and Motorola. He said this was evidence that more and more Chinese companies care about their international reputation.
The centre recently investigated a Chinese-owned cement factory in the Republic of Congo, where workers were said to be paid only £20 ($40) a month, less than half the amount promised at recruitment. Workers were also reported to be denied medical facilities.
Kwok-wah said the centre had had some success in righting wrongs at the Chinese logging company Baishanlin in Guyana. The company was accused of treating workers harshly, operating poor health and safety standards, failing to provide protective clothing and discriminating against Guyanese employees. Baishanlin replied that it respected international law, realized improvements were needed and accepted that it had to understand local cultural differences. The Guyanese labour minister visited the factory and ‘noted improvements in the conditions of work’.
Kwok-wah concluded that China was keen to improve its labour and environmental laws. In 2005 more than 300,000 labour rights cases were heard in China’s courts and more than a third went in the favour of workers.
He said: ‘I am seeing stronger enforcement on environmental, food safety and product safety issues. There are an increasing number of dedicated hard-working mainland Chinese labour rights and environmental non-governmental organizations helping to move things in the right direction.’
Kwok-wah made his comments at the launch of the Sir Geoffrey Chandler Speaker Series in London, which will concentrate on business and human rights issues.
Kwok-wah revealed that 13 electronics companies in Shenzhen had been accused by Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehaviour, a Hong Kong non-governmental organization, of widespread abuses, including child labour, excessive work hours and pregnancy discrimination. But three of the five factories accused of the worst violations had responded when approached, and the centre followed up by seeking comments from companies sourcing from the non-responding plants, including Hewlett-Packard and Motorola. He said this was evidence that more and more Chinese companies care about their international reputation.
The centre recently investigated a Chinese-owned cement factory in the Republic of Congo, where workers were said to be paid only £20 ($40) a month, less than half the amount promised at recruitment. Workers were also reported to be denied medical facilities.
Kwok-wah said the centre had had some success in righting wrongs at the Chinese logging company Baishanlin in Guyana. The company was accused of treating workers harshly, operating poor health and safety standards, failing to provide protective clothing and discriminating against Guyanese employees. Baishanlin replied that it respected international law, realized improvements were needed and accepted that it had to understand local cultural differences. The Guyanese labour minister visited the factory and ‘noted improvements in the conditions of work’.
Kwok-wah concluded that China was keen to improve its labour and environmental laws. In 2005 more than 300,000 labour rights cases were heard in China’s courts and more than a third went in the favour of workers.
He said: ‘I am seeing stronger enforcement on environmental, food safety and product safety issues. There are an increasing number of dedicated hard-working mainland Chinese labour rights and environmental non-governmental organizations helping to move things in the right direction.’
Kwok-wah made his comments at the launch of the Sir Geoffrey Chandler Speaker Series in London, which will concentrate on business and human rights issues.
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