When Wal‐Mart and the Chinese dormitory labour regime meet: a study of three toy factories in China

Abstract

This paper analyses the characteristics of the dormitory labour regime in China's post‐socialist period and the collusion of this regime in the process of the ‘Wal‐Martization’ of global toy production. This collusion has shaped labour relations and CSR labour practices in China. This paper focuses on three factories, located in the industrial zone of Shenzhen, South China, that supply toys to Wal‐Mart. It begins with an examination of the dormitory labour regime supporting China's exports and then investigates the ‘Wal‐Martization’ of the global toy industry. The effect of Wal‐Mart's bargain‐driven business model on the dormitory labour regime has reshaped China as ‘the world's workshop’ and changed its position in the international division of labour. An analysis of the nature and characteristics of Wal‐Mart's corporate social responsibility (CSR) model, which is based on providing only the ‘legal minimum,’ and its impact on factory labour relations in China will follow.

摘要: ：本文试图揭示中国后社会主义时期宿舍劳动体制的逻辑， 并分析其与国际玩具行业生产的“沃尔玛化”是如何重塑中国劳动关系和改造企业社会责任的劳动实践。 本文来源于作者对中国深圳工业区三家沃尔玛玩具供应商工厂的研究。 首先， 我们试图将中国出口加工业区的宿舍劳动体制概念化， 并呈现世界玩具行业“沃尔玛化”的特质， 讨论沃尔玛“天天平价”的商业模式与中国宿舍劳动体制是如何相互结合、共同铸就中国“世界工厂”的地位以及在世界劳动分工体系中的位置。 最后我们对沃尔玛“合法最低主义”的企业社会责任模式进行批判并讨论其对于中国工厂劳动关系的影响。

Keywords:

• China
• corporate social responsibility
• dormitory labour regime
• Wal‐Mart

Notes

1. Toy markets uncertain of year's profits, Global News Wire ‐ Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, 23 December 2005.

2. Toy exports up 42% in 1^st 11 months of 2005, Global News Wire ‐ Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, 19 January 2006.

3. For detailed analysis, see Hong and Warner (1998), Chan (1998, 2000), Lee (1999), Pun (2005b), Zhu (2004).

4. Playing safely; ICTI Care Process a win‐win situation, Playthings, 1 December 2005.

5. Playthings, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.

6. The Wal‐Mart Way Becomes Topic A in Business Schools, The New York Times, 27 July 2003.

7. Is Wal‐Mart good for America? PBS Frontline, 16 November 2004. See http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/interviews/bracy.html

8. Chinese Workers Pay for Wal‐Mart's Low Prices, The Washington Post, 8 February 2004.

9. China's toy industry feels growing pains, USA TODAY, 21 December 2006.

10. For instance, a private label toy selling at $15.99 ($4 less than the branded equivalent) probably cost the retailer $6.50 less, increasing the profit by almost another $2. See Clark (2007, p. 146).

11. For instance, from 1991 to 2000, the average retail price of all toys in the US market decreased 1% while there was an average 2.8% annual increase in all consumer goods prices over the same period. See Toy Industry Association (2001, p.53).

12. Toy makers uncertain of year's profits, Global News Wire ‐ Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, 23 December 2005.

13. The hidden downside of Santa's little helpers, The Irish Times, 21 December 2002.

14. For more detailed information on sweatshop abuses in Chinese toy factories, see the reports released by Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) in 2005, 2006 and 2007 at http://www.sacom.hk.

15. These anti‐sweatshop groups have launched actions ranging from media exposure and consumer boycotts to investor activism. For details, see: Shoppers urged to use buying power to aid toy factory workers, The Irish Times, 24 November 1998; Wal‐Mart: Vendors in charge of ethical production, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 5 April 1998; Wal‐Mart stockholders address sweatshop issues, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 27 May 2001; and Asia Monitor Resource Centre (2004, p. 74).

16. For the content of these codes, see Hasbro, Inc. (1993), International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) (1995), Mattel, Inc. (1997), Toys R Us, Inc. (2002), Wal‐Mart (2005).

17. At these three factories, about 80% of the workforce was made up of young women between 18 and 30 from China's rural inland provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Henan.

18. 2004 nian 1‐6 yue zhongguo yanhai diqu chuxian yonggong duanque de qingkuang [the labour shortage situation in China's coastal areas during January‐June 2004], Zhonghua Gongshang Shibao [China Industry and Business News], 15 October 2004.

19. Shenzhen Wanbao [Shenzhen Evening], 13 October 1999; Shenzhen Tequ Bao [Shenzhen Special Zone News], 23 May 2000; Nanfang Dushi Bao [South City News], 16 May 2001; Shenzhen Wanbao [Shenzhen Evening], 29 April 2003; Shenzhen Shangbao [Shenzhen Business News], 31 May 2005.

20. Wal‐Mart appeared on the annual list of ‘the 10 worst corporations’ of 2004 published by the Multinational Monitor newsletter, which tracks corporate activity, focusing on corruption and legal problems. See: And Wal‐Mart makes 10: the worst of 2004, St. Petersburg Times, 26 January 2005.

21. For examples, see The Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility (2007).

22. Wal‐Mart: Vendors in charge of ethical production, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 5 April 1998.

23. For a more in‐depth discussion of the limits of internal monitoring, see: A life of fines and beating, Business Week, 2 October 2000.

24. Shareholder activism against sweatshop labour abuses at Wal‐Mart's overseas supplier factories can be traced back to the late 1990s when Wal‐Mart investors headed by the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility filed a proposal at the company's 1997 annual meeting calling for independent monitoring of labour conditions at Wal‐Mart's suppliers’ factories. In 2001, a larger coalition of Wal‐Mart shareholders put the proposal back on the table at the company's annual meeting. (See: Group targets Wal‐Mart to monitor sweatshops, St. Louis Post‐Dispatch, 21 April 1997, and Bentonville Coalition pressures Wal‐Mart on factories, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 24 January 2001). The Domini Social Equity Fund, the largest socially responsible mutual fund, dumped all of its 1.2 million Wal‐Mart shares when working conditions at the Chun Si Enterprise Handbag Factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong, were uncovered by Business Week in 2000. (See: Wal‐Mart stockholders address sweatshop issues, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 27 May 2001.)

25. Bentonville Coalition pressures Wal‐Mart on factories, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 24 January 2001.

26. Wal‐Mart stockholders address sweatshop issues, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 27 May 2001.

27. Wal‐Mart approach to ethics goes global: Firms seen adding execs to hedge liability, Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette, 7 March 2006.

28. Wal‐Mart's ‘Standards for Suppliers’ requires that ‘Employees shall not work more than 72 hours per 6 days or work more than a maximum total working hours of 14 hours per calendar day (midnight to midnight).’ See Wal‐Mart Stores, Inc. (2005, p. 27).

29. Wal‐Mart's ‘Inspection Checklist’ explains that, ‘They [factories] must have an acceptable system to track hours worked, and they must prohibit working off the clock.’ See: Wal‐Mart Stores, Inc. (2004, p. 19).

30. Renmin Ribao [People's Daily], 19 May 2006.

31. The monthly wage of CNY991 is calculated by the following wage formula: base wage (480 yuan) + 1.5 RHW (4.3 yuan) ×60 overtime hours at night from Monday to Friday (3 hour ×5 day ×4 week) (258 yuan) + 2 RHW (5.74 yuan) ×44 overtime hours on Saturday (11 hour ×4 week) (253 yuan).

32. The monthly wage of CNY1197 is calculated as: 580 ÷ 480×991 yuan.

33. For details, see: The hidden downside of Santa's little helpers, The Irish Times, 21 December 2002; Sweatshop hell for China's toy makers worse than ever, The Independent, 24 December 2002; Season of discontent: Santa's Chinese elves plumb out of goodwill, Ottawa Citizen, 23 December 2004.

34. For details of sweatshop labour abuses revealed in reports produced by NGOs, see: Asia Monitor Resource Centre (2000), Chan (2005), China Labour Watch (2005), China Labour Watch and National Labour Committee (2005), Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (2000, 2001a, b), Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (2006), The National Labour Committee (2002, 2005), The National Labour Committee and China Labour Watch (2006).