Investigation confirms use of child labor
Guangdong authorities have inspected more than 3,600 businesses in Dongguan - at the centre of a child labor scandal - after children were found working in the city's factories, local officials said. More than 1,000 children, aged between 9 and 16 from poor families in Liangshan, Sichuan province, have been lured to work as cheap labor in Dongguan. The Dongguan government had investigated more than 3,600 companies that employ 450,000 people between Monday and Wednesday, but found that only a few small companies and workshops had hired children, a local government official said.
"In the factories we inspected, we did not come across any large-scale use of child labor," Li Xiaomei, deputy mayor of Dongguan, told a press conference on Wednesday. But Li also said that some factories and mills recruit temporary workers through illegal middle-men, which might involve child labor. "The government has a clear cut attitude toward the illegal use of child workers, and we will resolutely crack down on it." The government will fine violators up to 50,000 yuan ($7,200), she said.
The recent probe comes less than a year after the media reported children as young as 8 years old were abducted or recruited from bus and train stations with false promises of well-paid jobs and sold to brick kilns in Shanxi province for about $65. The victims were forced to work almost around the clock, beaten and deprived of pay, nourishment and basic medical care.
It is good that the deputy mayor is cracking down on the child labor but I don’t know if it is a good or bad thing that there haven’t been more factories busted for child labor. It is good that maybe there isn’t too much of it going on, but I have a feeling the factories are getting around the issue and there are still plenty of children being exploited.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-05/02/content_6656985.htm
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