Working Conditions In The Toy Industry In Chian

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CASE Studies Case study I: Working conditions in the Toy Industry in China China is the most important supplier of toy products worldwide, the source of 75 to 80 % of all toys traded. According to Chinese statistics, in 2006 the country exported ‘classic’ toys worth about US$ 9.5 billion or US$17.7 billion including video games. Major importing countries in 2006 were: USA (US$ 6.5 bn), Germany (US$1.5 bn), Netherlands (US$1.1 bn) and United Kingdom (US$ 1.1 bn). According to the China Toy Association, more than 8500 companies in the coastal region of Southern China are producing toys for the world market. About 5000 of them are located in the province of Guangdong. Most major toy companies in Europe and the USA have suppliers in China, some sourcing up to 100 %. The majority of the two to three million people employed in China’s toy industry are young, female, and they come into the booming southern Chinese industrialised region as migrant workers from poor rural areas hundreds of kilometres away. Migrant workers in China only have limited civil rights (e.g. no free primary schooling for their children.)12 Ten years of experience of the German NGO coalition “Aktion fair spielt” shows that efforts to guarantee and promote safe working conditions throughout the supply chain can vary from company to company. Working conditions in the toy industry are similar to those in the textile or the electronics industry. Long working hours (of up to 14 hours a day, sometimes even more) and compulsory work seven days a week are common, in particular in peak times from about May to September, when toys are produced for the pre-Christmas markets in Europe, USA and Japan. Health and safety standards are often poor due to hazardous paint and solvent, extreme heat and dust at production facilities, defective machinery and unsafe electric equipment. Skin and

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