Home--News
College Students Claim Coca-Cola Using Illegal Chinese Labor
ChinaCSR.com
December 15, 2008
A social survey team formed by Chinese college students has published
a report on Chinese website 163.com in which they say that Coca-Cola
is using temporary and interim labor illegally in China.
The survey found that Coca-Cola and its suppliers hire a lot of interim
and temporary workers in China, and ask them to conduct dangerous
and tedious work. Workers reportedly toil for long hours with the
low salaries that may be deferred or subject to deductions. The survey
team claims that Coca-Cola also turns a blind eye to illegal actions
by their intermediary companies and bottlers.
The survey was initiated in July 2008, by nine college students from
Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. During the one-month survey, they
contacted five bottling factories and four Coca-Cola suppliers and
found that the companies are using a large number of interim workers
and asking them to work overtime.
China's Labor Law, which went into effect at the beginning of 2008,
states that companies shall not use interim workers for more than
six months without signing full labor contracts. However, the student
survey claims many dispatched laborers in Coca-Cola are reported to
have worked for the company or its bottlers for over two years, and
some even for up to ten years.
The survey shows that during the high season, interim workers are
asked to work for up to 330 hours each month, which is almost double
the time stated by the labor laws. Additionally the survey discovered
that these workers are paid less than their full-time counterparts.
The survey report points out that Coca-Cola's suppliers are also involved
in other irregularities and have poor safety records and a history
of random dismissal of workers
FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. India Resource Center is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|