Os comentários de Golani sobre a minha opinião de que a “prosperidade” chinesa assentam sobre uma base de baixos direitos laborais, por um sistemático desprezo pela vida, dignidades e sofrimentos humanos e, sobretudo, por uma política sistemática de baixos salários acabaram por merecer um Post dedicado ao tema. E este é o dito…
É a minha posição de que existe na China um regime de escravidão laboral generalizado, ilegal porque violando as próprias leis do Estado, mas impune merçê de uma corrupção quase absoluta e de uma grande fraqueza, venalidade e escassez de recursos por parte das entidades fiscalizadores chinesas.
Para além desta “Escravatura Laboral”, a adesão deste espaço à campanha 
assenta também numa atitude imperialista e colonial da China em relação ao povo oprimido do Tibete e no apoio a um dos governos islâmicos mais desumanos da actualidade, o governo sudânes de Cartoum…
Citando: “parece-me estranho não reconhecer e compreender” a posição sistemática atentatória dos Direitos Humanos e de uma agressividade (armada) crescente que o “Império do Meio” tem vindo a assumir nas últimas décadas…
Quanto ao suposto “paraíso laboral” que Golani afirma ser a China moderna, não posso deixar de me lembrar daqueles cartazes da UDP onde esta exaltava as virtudes e as facilidades da vida na Albânia de Enver Hoxna… Uma comparação que aqui introduzo de forma não aleatória, já que ambos os regimes eram… estalinistas, uma forma de Governo que parece ser do agrado do nosso comentador, a atentar na forma exaltada como advoga a forma de Governo imposta com brutalidade e ditatorialmente a partir de Pequim…
Quanto ao Suposto “paraíso laboral” que seria a China deixo aqui algumas citações e merecidos comentários:
“Another cause is the sweatshop conditions at many factories, including low pay, seven-day work weeks, 15-hour working days, mandatory overtime, a poor working environment and often coercive factory regulations.”
-> 7 dias de trabalho por semana
-> Turnos de trabalho de 15 horas diárias
-> Tempo Extra obrigatório
-> Más condições de trabalho
“There is not a factory in Dongguan that abides by the Labor Law. I would say 50 to 60 percent of the factories here make you work seven days a week,” said a worker surnamed Wu who toils at the city’s Henghui packaging factory.”
-> Violação sistemática da Lei Laboral Chinesa
“The Labor Law mandates a 40-hour, five-day work week and a range of worker benefits.”
“However, in the past 12 years their salaries have only risen 68 yuan (US$8) on average, said the reports, cited by the Yangcheng Evening News.”
-> Uau! Oito dólares em 12 anos… É a este ganho de rendimentos a que se refere?… Substancial, sem dúvida… Isto dá um aumento de quanto por ano, durante estes 12 anos?
“Three-quarters of migrant workers in Guangdong made less than 1,000 yuan a month, with most of the rest earning less. Average monthly costs totalled 500 yuan. By comparison, the average monthly salary for a non-migrant worker in Guangdong was 1,675 yuan.”
-> Ou seja, a mão-de-obra é mantida baixa graças ao influxo de centenas de milhões de migrantes rurais que acorrem às cidades, pressionando os custos laborais da mão-de-obra urbana e empurrando para baixo os salários médios…
“Despite regulations that call on factories to give all workers retirement insurance, only half of migrant workers had any, the reports said.”
-> Inexistência de planos de reforma… Em centenas de milhões de trabalhadores por toda a China… O que será destas centenas de milhões quando daqui a vinte anos o mercado de trabalho os rejeitar? Vão formar um imenso exército de indigentes de meia idade procurando vegetar nas lixeiras públicas?…
Fonte: http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/en/web/article.php?article_id=50243
“Massive unemployment, low wages, the lack of enforcement of labour laws and standards, repression of independent union organising, and the role of the state-run All China Federation of Trade Unions in supporting management, are combined with local governments whose policies and interests lie in attracting foreign capital and ensuring the best conditions for the accumulation of profit.”
-> Desemprego massivo… Isto é, nem o explosivo crescimento do PIB está a conseguir enquadrar a explosão demográfica chinesa… Baixos salários conjugados com altos níveis de desemprego num Estado anti-democrático produzem uma Sociedade Estável e sustentávelmente estabelecida?
“In Shenzhen, two independent trade unionists were charged with subversion in July 1996 because they had disseminated pamphlets on workers’ rights.”
-> Proibição da consttituição de sindicatos independentes, autónomos do “Sindicato Único” controlado pelo Partido e pelo Estado cumprindo em boa ordem os trâmites do capitalismo europeu mais selvagem do século XIX… Um regime tão opressivo onde até a simples distribuição de panfletos merece… Uma condenação por “subversão”… É este o paraíso que os Liberais à La “Compromisso Portugal” e “Blasfémias” advogam para Portugal? Não Obrigado!
“For example, workers often had a difficult time answering questions about overtime because it is hard for them to distinguish between a “normal work day” and overtime. When hired, the workers were told they had to work 12 hours a day. According to the Chinese Labour Law, the work day should only be eight hours long, and the four extra hours of work should be counted as overtime. However, the factories set the “normal” work day as 12 hours, and then add additional overtime work. Therefore, if a worker works a 15-hour day, she will usually say she worked three hours of overtime, when she really worked seven overtime hours.”
-> Ou seja, ausência sistemática e continuada do pagamento de horas extraordinárias, juntamente com turnos diários de 15 horas diárias de laboração… Que vida familiar podem ter estas pessoas? Que tipo de adultos serão os filhos destes pais que só vêm ao fim-de-semana e mesmo assim, apenas ao domingo?
“Many workers did not consider the chemicals in their factories to be hazardous, but this is often a reflection of their lack of understanding about health and safety issues. One chemical, benzene, which is used in China as a glue in making sports shoes, can cause anemia and leukemia and is so toxic that it has been banned in the United States and many European countries. But the factories do not inform the workers of the contents of poisonous substances, so workers have no way of knowing the degree of harm done to their bodies.”
-> Falta de sistema de fiscalização estatais ou a ausência corrompida dos mesmos são a praga das unidades fabris chinesas… Os custos de saúde consequentes são galopantes e o absentismo resultante só é compensado… Pela imensa legião de exilados rurais que esperam ansiosamente por uma oportunidade de ocuparem o posto de trabalho do colega que acabou de adoecer e que, acto contínuo, foi despedido…
“Another issue we questioned workers about is whether they were forced to pay a deposit upon being hired at the factory, which is not legal. Many workers answered that they did not pay a deposit. However, in most cases, workers were simply not paid for the first month of work, which amounts to a deposit. Though the factory promises that these deposits will at some point be returned to them, this is often not the case.”
-> Um tanto semelhante ao “regime de Contrato” de que Portugal usou e abusou para alimentar de mão-de-obra escrava as plantações de café em São Tomé durante as décadas de 20 e 40, não?… Um depósito obrigatório dado pelo empregado à fábrica?… Isto não é uma forma imoral e ilegal de coacção?
“The workers work 11 hours a day, in violation of both Chinese labour law and the Nike Code of Conduct.1 In addition to this arduous schedule, all must work overtime. If they refuse they can be fined $1.20 – $3.61(10-30Rmb) or docked the entire day’s pay. Several of the workers mentioned that they did not realise that they would be forced to work overtime when they were hired.”
-> Multas quando havia recusa na prestação de horas extra!
“The workers are given a quota to complete in the working day. However, the quota is very harsh, and often cannot be fulfilled in a day’s work. When this happens, the worker must participate in “prolonged work” for which there is no pay.”
-> Quotas impossíveis de cumprir e “multas” que obrigam à prestação de trabalho extraordinário não-remunerado…
“While working, the workers are not allowed to talk to their co-workers, and if they disobey this rule, they are warned and then fined $1.20-$3.61 (10-30Rmb).”
-> Multas por… Falar! E nalguns casos por… Rir! Que belo e humano ambiente de trabalho… Certamente o sonho de qualquer neoliberal de gema… Para si e para os seus filhos, de certeza absoluta!…
“Several workers recalled incidents of corporal abuse, but more common is punishment through fines. There was one case of a worker being fired because she had stayed up working overtime until 3am and then did not come to work the next day. There were other examples of dismissals without cause, such as workers fired for being “too old” (i.e. over 25) or for becoming pregnant.”
-> Despedidos quando ficam “idosos”… Com mais de 25 anos… E abusos corporais, especialmente por capatazes contra mulheres jovens…
“The factory also fails to pay the legal minimum wage and the legal wage for overtime pay. The legal minimum wage in Dongguan is $1.93 (16Rmb) for 8 hours of work, but workers in Nority receive only $1.20-$1.45 (10-12Rmb) per day.”
-> Pagamentos de ordenados muito abaixo do Salário Mínimo estabelecido por Lei na China…
“According to factory regulations, the workers have to get to the plant at 7:00am for morning calisthenics at 7:30am. Then they work from 8:00am to 12:30pm, have a 30-minute break for lunch, and then work from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. After dinner, they have to work overtime, usually until 10-11pm. “We eat so that we can work again. We have no idea of the time”, one worker said. Most workers stated that they worked a 12-hour day, though one woman said she worked 16 hours a day.”
“Child care, social security benefits, medical insurance and bereavement leave are not provided, although these are benefits stipulated under the Chinese Labour Law.
Eighty percent of the interviewed workers said on top of the normal work day of 10-12 hours, they worked an additional 2 hours of overtime every day. Forty percent of the interviewed workers said that overtime work is compulsory and 75 percent mentioned that if they failed to work overtime, they would receive a fine or a warning
Moreover, according to the China Labour Law Article 44, overtime pay should be at least 1.5 times the regular wage. In the survey, half the workers who were paid by piece rate did not receive any extra pay for overtime work
Fonte: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=3031
“documented the uncontrolled use of carcinogenic benzene-based glues, the lack of masks and gloves and poor ventilation in hundreds of small, predominantly privately-owned workshops. As a result, large numbers of the 20,000 workers in the Bishan area have contracted blood disorders including severe anaemia and leukaemia. While benzene-free glue is available on the market, it is not used in the Bishan shoe plants because it is 30 percent dearer.”
“In some factories, management keeps a portion of the workers’ wages each month and in other cases retains the permits and identity papers—practices that are illegal but that authorities turn a blind eye to. It is a system of bonded labour. Without documentation workers cannot go back to their village, change employment or even go into the street for fear of a police identity check. Police periodically raid factories. Guest workers without permits are thrown into detention centres, and subsequently deported.”
-> Documentação retida pelo empregador de forma a escravizar o trabalhador, ameaçando-o com a deportação para o Interior rural e empobrecido caso ocorra uma “oportuna” e “espontânea” rusga por parte das autoridades policiais…
“A study published in September 1998 by Anita Chan, a researcher based at the Australian National University in Canberra, provides further details of the harsh working conditions in many Chinese factories.
Chan refers to a letter sent to a newspaper by over 20 workers employed at Guangdong’s Zhaojie Footwear Co, a joint state-owned and private venture, detailing the treatment of the workforce and the means used to keep them from leaving the plant. Many of workers, including children under 16 years, were recruited in Sichuan, Henan and Hunan provinces by company agents who lied about the conditions of employment.
“Those of us who came from outside the province only knew we had been cheated after getting here. The reality is completely different from what we were told by the recruiter. Now, even though we want to leave, we cannot because they would not give us back our deposit and our temporary residential permit. They have not been giving us our wages.”
“According to the letter, the company employs over 100 live-in security guards and has set up supervisory teams to patrol the factory. “The staff and workers could not escape even if they had wings. The only way to get out of the factory grounds is to persuade the officer in charge of issuing leave permits to let you go.”
-> Guardas armadas cercando as fábricas e os dormitórios dos trabalhadores… Nada semelhante a uma plantação do bom velho Sul dos EUA no século XIX, pois não?
“Fines and penalties are imposed for lateness, for not turning up for work, even in the case of illness, and for “negligent” work. Workers can also be fined for laughing and talking in the workplace, for loitering in company premises outside of working hours, for untidy dormitories and even for failing to turn out lights. In some cases, a substantial part or even the entire wage of a worker is appropriated through fines.
–> Multas por… Doença! Multas por… Rir no local de trabalho! Multas por… Usar o uniforme da empresa fora do local de trabalho! Que malandros! Que prevaricadores! Que… Oportunidade para reduzir ainda mais um já de si muito diminuto salário mensal…
“Restrictions extend to the number of times that a worker can go to the toilet and the length of time spent there. In one factory employees were fined two days wages for going to the toilet more than twice in a day. “
-> Limitações nas idas à casa de banho… Multas por ir mais do que duas vezes por dia! Que paraíso de condições de vida!
“To enforce their rules, companies employ small armies of private security guards, often armed with electric batons and other weapons to patrol factories and dormitory compounds. These guards work closely with the local police who are brought in to suppress protests over working conditions, unpaid wages, layoffs and unpaid pensions.”
Fonte: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/oct2000/chin-o11.shtml
“Chinese law prohibits workers from organizing independently. Only one organization, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), can legally represent workers, and it is under the control of state authorities. It has never spoken out against the laws and regulations routinely used to justify putting independent labor activists in prison.”
Fonte: http://www.buyhard.fsnet.co.uk/workers_rights.htm#workers-hrw
“Protests by angry workers over layoffs, wage arrears, poor working conditions, and management corruption have been met with repression and force. Clashes between workers and armed police have resulted in casualties and arrests. Such demonstrations are often unreported as the local authorities attempt to conceal the severity or extent of the protests,” the organization said.
Many labour activists and supporters have been detained and beaten during or immediately after demonstrations, then released after a short period of detention. Others, usually the organizers, have been formally charged and imprisoned for long periods of time. Journalists and lawyers are also targeted by the authorities and face intimidation and arrest if they speak out in defence of the workers.”
Fonte: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA170222002?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES/CHINA
“At least 41 independent trade unionists and workers’ rights activists are currently detained throughout the country, many of them since 1989. Several long-term detainees have been singled out for ill-treatment or torture in forced labour camps, and have become dangerously ill as a result.”
Fonte: http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991215395&Language=EN
“Staff making the world’s most popular MP3 player also worked more than six consecutive days 25% of the time.
Apple said the hours were “excessive” and said its supplier would now be enforcing a “normal” 60-hour week.”
-> Normal? 60 sessenta horas por semana!?
Fonte: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5262110.stm
“The 1995 PRC Labor Law is comprehensive, covering labor contracts, working hours, wages, worker safety, child labor, and labor disputes, among other subjects (see the CBR, January-February 2004, China’s Changing Labor Relations). Government regulations provide additional detail and rights. For example, the law currently mandates a maximum workweek of 40 hours. Minimum wages are established locally, and wages cannot be deducted or delayed without reason. If employees must work more than 40 hours, overtime pay at fixed rates is mandatory. Workers are guaranteed at least one day off every week. Working conditions are required to be safe and sanitary. In practice, however, the rights of Chinese workers are routinely violated. Workers are often required to work far more than 40 hours a week, have few days off, are paid below the minimum wage, and are not paid required overtime. Improper deductions from wages are common. Some Chinese workers must pay a large sum of money as a “deposit” to their employer, and they may have to pay a “recruitment fee” in order to be hired. These payments can prevent workers from leaving jobs where their rights are violated. Physical abuse of workers, and dangerous working conditions, are also common.
(…)
- “Although China has an adequate labor law, it is poorly enforced.
- Codes imposed on factory owners raise costs, so owners have a financial incentive to ignore code requirements. Factory owners are becoming increasingly adept at circumventing inspections, through practices such as double bookkeeping and coaching of workers. As a result, inspectors are often deceived and “clean” audit reports often do not reflect reality.
- China has a virtually inexhaustible supply of migrant workers, most of whom are ignorant of their rights under Chinese law and are willing to work under any conditions without protest.
- The Chinese government prohibits the existence of independent trade unions, leaving workers without representatives who can discuss violations with management. Workers who have tried to form independent unions or lead labor protests have been imprisoned.
- Western companies’ sourcing practices can contribute to the problem when, for example, large orders are made with short deadlines, the lowest possible prices are demanded, and orders are changed at the last minute. Factory owners are afraid to lose business if they refuse orders, even if they have to violate the law to complete an order.”
Fonte: http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0403/rosoff.html
“Many thousands of Chinese workers are dying needlessly every year in China because their workplaces do not pay proper attention to the health and safety of their employees. In 2002, reports state that over 14,000 workers died in a total of 13,960 accidents in the manufacturing and mining industries alone. The real figure may be much higher.”
-> Em condições de trabalho tão desumanas e perigosas como aquelas que são comuns na indústria chinesa é natural que a percentagem de acidentes fatais suba em flecha…
Fonte: http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/contents/article?revision%5fid=9096&item%5fid=9095
“The announcement comes nearly two weeks after a state-controlled newspaper in Guangdong reported that some McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Guangdong were violating the law by paying employees less than minimum wage and denying some workers full-time benefits.
(…)
In the recent McDonald’s case, a team of Chinese journalists went undercover, posing as workers, to get inside several McDonald’s and Yum Brands restaurants in Guangdong Province. The newspaper reported that McDonald’s and KFC sometimes would not sign labor contracts with some workers, and that other employees were forced to work up to 10-hour shifts. Some workers, the newspaper said, were paid only about 52 cents an hour, when the region’s labor authorities require city employers to pay about 95 cents an hour.
-> As multinacionais do costume aproveitando-se de um regime esclavagista para aumentarem o crescimento dos seus lucros não há custa de melhores produtos, melhor gestão, inovação tecnológica ou maior eficiência, mas à custa de… baixos salários e longas jornadas de trabalho…
“In China, several factory managers admitted to researchers to using an array of tools to pass inspections even though they were violating the codes set by retailers. Factories supplying Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Tommy Hilfiger were found to have false documents on hours and wages and to coach workers on how to answer inspectors’ questions.
Fonte: http://www.guardian.co.uk/globalisation/story/0,7369,1143989,00.html
“The group the researchers studied showed only 13.7 percent worked for no more than eight hours a day, 40.30 percent worked eight to nine hours, 23.48 percent put in nine to 10 hours a day and 22.50 percent worked more than 10 hours.
(…)
The Beijing Bureau of Statistics said employed people in China’s capital worked for 5.9 days, or 47.2 hours, a week on average. Most of the employees in labor-intensive businesses and the service trade worked for more than six days a week.
A well-known job-hunting Website, http://www.zhaopin.com, conducted an online survey of 15,000 people recently. The survey found that approximately 40 percent of the respondents worked extra hours voluntarily.
(…)
The Chinese Medical Association recently conducted a random survey of 330,000 people in 33 cities. The findings show 70 percent of Chinese people complained of fatigue, insomnia and appetite disorders.
Fonte: http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/May/167390.htm
“Beijingers are averaging almost an hour’s overtime every day, a new survey has revealed.
On any given working day, the average Beijinger spends an extra 53 minutes at work over-and-above their contracted hours.
According to the Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau, who organized the survey, the average overtime spent at work has gone up by 39 minutes in the past 20 years.
Most hardworking were 31-35 year-olds who work an extra 67 minutes each day.”
Fonte: http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/148890.htm
Hum…
Com tão boas condições de Trabalho, o que fazem os defensores do regime chinês para se impedirem de acorrer em massa (ambos os dois) para a Embaixada Chinesa na Lapa em busca de preencherem a papelada de imigração? Aliás, o que fazem mesmo em Portugal 30 mil cidadãos chineses se as condições de vida e trabalho no seu país são tão admiráveis como alega o nosso comentador?
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