Workers at some suppliers to Chinese “fast fashion” giant Shein are still working 75 hours a week, despite the company promising to improve conditions, according to a report.
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A new investigation by the Swiss NGO Public Eye followed up on a report it produced in 2021, which described how employees at six factories in Guangzhou were working a excessive overtime.
According to this organization, which interviewed 13 employees from six Chinese Shein supplier factories for its most recent investigation, excessive overtime is still common for many workers.
Shein told the BBC he was “working hard” to address the issues raised in the Public Eye report and had made “significant progress in improving conditions”.
Shein has grown rapidly since its founding in 2008, and was one of many online businesses that experienced a boom during the Covid pandemic lockdowns.
Its formula of offering a wide range of cheap clothing – reinforced with campaigns on Instagram, TikTok and other social networks – has made it one of the largest fashion retailers in the world.
Your business depends on thousands of factories and third-party suppliers, near its headquarters in Guangzhou. Is capable of producing a new item in a matter of weeksinstead of months.
However, one employee who has been working with sewing machines for 20 years told Public Eye: “I work every day from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and I take one day off a month. I can’t allow myself more days off because they cost too much.
The 13 factory employees were interviewed in the summer of 2023.
The employees worked in production centers west of the town of Nancun, in the Guangzhou area of southern China.
Public Eye did not return to Nancun, which was the location of the original interviews, arguing that “the atmosphere was Too risky” for the media attention that his initial report generated.
The Swiss NGO Public Eye made a strong complaint against Shein in 2021 for the working conditions of its suppliers.
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12 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week
The interviewees, aged between 23 and 60, said they worked 12 hours a day on average, not counting lunch or dinner breaks.
They also expressed that they normally worked six to seven days a week.
Shein’s Code of Conduct for its suppliers states that Employees must not work more than 60 hours per weekincluding overtime.
The brand acknowledged this was a long-standing issue when Public Eye first raised it in 2021.
In his response to the organization’s latest report, Shein said long working hours in the sector were a “common challenge that brands, manufacturers and other ecosystem players must work together to address.”
He added that This is not a problem exclusive to Sheinbut said it was “committed to doing our part to improve the situation in our own supply chain.”
The workers also claimed that their salaries have practically not changed since the first investigation and fluctuate between 6,000 and 10,000 yuan per month (between US$829 and US$1,381 per month).
Public Eye states that the workers’ base salary, after deducting overtime, is 2,400 yuan (US$331).
According to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, a living wage in China is around 6,512 yuan (US$899).
Those interviewed said that if they made a mistake, they had to rearrange their clothes without receiving compensation.
“Whoever makes the mistake is responsible for fixing it. You have to fix the problem on your work time,” a 50-year-old supervisor told researchers.
The workers also stated that they had observed a increase in surveillance cameras in factoriesand said they believed the images were being sent to Shein in real time so the rules could be applied.
Public Eye also claimed to have observed small children being cared for in factories, teenagers packing items and smoking bans not being enforced.
Shein has faced other complaints over the environmental impact of its operations and the lead content of its clothing.
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Shein’s response
In a statement to the BBC, Shein said it is investing tens of millions of dollars “in strengthening governance and compliance across our supply chain.”
“We are actively working to improve our suppliers’ practices, including ensuring that hours worked are voluntary and that workers are fairly compensated for what they do, and we also recognize the importance of industry collaboration to ensure improvement. and progress in this area,” he said.
“As a result of our efforts, an investigation we conducted with external auditors found that workers at Shein suppliers in China perceive basic wages significantly higher than the average local minimum wage“.
Shein told Public Eye that he required suppliers to ensure they comply with local laws and regulations governing wages and working hours.
“When violations are detected [de nuestras políticas]we take firm measures… [incluida] the termination of the business relationship”.
As for the surveillance cameras, Shein told Public Eye that suppliers made their own decisions about installing cameras in their factories, and that the company did not have access to the recordings.
As for children in factories, the company told Public Eye: “We have no tolerance for child labor at all. We treat any breaches with the utmost severity.”
The company acknowledged that some factory employees face the challenge of balancing work with childcarewhich “may result in workers bringing their children to the workplace.”
“Conscious of this, we offer financial assistance to providers to create childcare centers within or near their facilities.”
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