If you decide to entrust a Far East contractor with your work, in 2018, you may still get a nasty surprise. That is the way it is. At Panyu Shimen Handbag, a South Korean factory located in Guangzhou, female workers have been on strike since March 5 “because they have been paid no minimum wage nor given any other benefits fixed by Chinese law”. For the records, the above-mentioned factory is, most of all, one of the contractors of Michael Kors: they manufacture leather goods collections for the brand. In addition to that, they also develop some product lines for Kate Spade and Mark Jacobs (DKNY and Coach used to be two more clients of Panyu Shimen, but “they stopped working with this provision supplier a while ago”, they announced). Chinese ONG Labor Watch exposed the misbehavior of Panyu Shimen, whose workers are mostly women (a vast majority, nearly 90%). According to China Labor Watch, the factory “has not paid, for years, the basic salary, which amounts to 3,500 renminbi (about 500 euros), in the production low season; furthermore, they have not provided any pension scheme nor housing subsidy. With regard to welfare, they have not granted any extra wage to compensate for the working hours at high temperature, nor sick pay, nor pay for paternity hours; moreover, they have not been complying with compulsory medical examinations”. According to China Labor Watch, Panyu Shimen are recidivist: in 2012, Burberry terminated their contract because of a similar protest.
No minimum wage nor welfare benefits: in Guangzhou female workers at Kors contractor go on strike indefinitely
