Reports

A Siege From Within: On Chinese SOEs’ Operational Structure – Case Papua New Guinea

Download Full Report Executive Summary Since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, Chinese investment into Papua New Guinea (PNG) has burgeoned. Resulting from China’s deepening economic relations with the island country, a new wave of Chinese migrants to PNG has occurred since 2012-13 and thousands of guest workers now participate in the construction of new harbors, highroads, and residential compounds. Chinese investments in PNG primarily cover the country’s retail, construction and mining sectors, with the majority…

Read MoreA Siege From Within: On Chinese SOEs’ Operational Structure – Case Papua New Guinea

Ten Worker Stories: Away From Home

Download Cover Note This is a collection of stories centering the experiences of Chinese guest workers working for Chinese companies abroad. These stories are written based on CLW’s interviews with workers from 2020 to 2022, documenting a slew of embodied experiences of abuses including deceptions, arbitrary wage manipulations, restriction of freedom, threats and violence, poor living and working conditions, poor safety and health protections, and passport confiscation. These workers were of varied backgrounds and skill sets, and were posted to…

Read MoreTen Worker Stories: Away From Home

Compounding Vulnerabilities: Chinese Workers In Indonesia

Download Full Report This report documents the findings of CLW’s investigation in China’s Belt and Road nickel production projects in Indonesia. It aims to amplify Chinese overseas workers’ voices through diving into their lived experiences in some of the largest nickel production industrial projects in Indonesia backed under ill-regulated Chinese capital. Nickel is a key material in the production of stainless steel and batteries, and a strategically important resource for Indonesia to boost its domestic economy. Following the global impetus…

Read MoreCompounding Vulnerabilities: Chinese Workers In Indonesia

Labor Conditions in China’s Consumer Electronics Sector 

Download Full Report Executive Summary From iPhones, to Bose headphones, to HP screens, to Amazon Kindles, it is no secret that parts of your electronics devices and domestic appliances can be manufactured and assembled in factories across coastal and inland China. When these products hit their record sales at the end of each year, workers in China work day and night for over 250 hours a month to complete demanding orders coming from the Global North.   Based on open…

Read MoreLabor Conditions in China’s Consumer Electronics Sector 

Investigation of an Apple Supplier: Chengdu Foxconn Report in 2023

Download Full Report Executive Summary In November 2020, China Labor Watch (CLW) reported on a protest held by over 1,000 dispatch workers at Foxconn Chengdu. Foxconn’s dispatch workers were owed three month’s worth of hourly subsidies and bonuses, but Foxconn itself did not actually sign any labor contracts with the workers, effectively shrugging off responsibility. This ignited protests and concerns over labor conditions at Apple’s largest Chinese supplier. CLW interviews uncovered a series of labor rights violations, including forced overtime,…

Read MoreInvestigation of an Apple Supplier: Chengdu Foxconn Report in 2023

Investigation of an Apple Supplier: Pegatron Kunshan Report in 2023

China Labor Watch (CLW) investigated Pegatron’s factories and found workers working around the clock to create these iPhones. While the world admires Apple’s newest technological achievement, few pay attention to the exploited laborers behind this product. Consistent with past investigative findings, labor rights abuses and violations continues.

Read MoreInvestigation of an Apple Supplier: Pegatron Kunshan Report in 2023

Investigative Report of Hengyang Foxconn (Futaihong Precision Industry) Co., Ltd.

Download Full Report Introduction Foxconn is a successful business in the field of global wireless communication and was listed as a leading manufacturer of professional cell phone design in Hong Kong in 2005. Major customers include Amazon, Apple, Xiaomi, Nokia, Motorola, Huawei, Meizu, InFocus and other well-known brands. The global electronics manufacturer, however, has been under fire a number of times for its poor labor treatments. China Labor Watch (CLW) alone has conducted more than a dozen factory investigations in…

Read MoreInvestigative Report of Hengyang Foxconn (Futaihong Precision Industry) Co., Ltd.

Abuse in the Printing Supply Chain

An Investigation into Two Toner Cartridge Manufacturers in Zhuhai Full report Executive Summary The third-party consumables industry produces toner cartridges for laser printers, ink cartridges for inkjet printers, and ribbons for dot matrix printers, as well as other products. Critical to any digital device’s printing process, ink, toner, and ribbon cartridges are purchased in high-frequency on markets around the world. According to Reportlinker, the Global Printer Market accounted for USD 42.35 billion in revenue for 2020. The pandemic has witnessed…

Read MoreAbuse in the Printing Supply Chain

Women Workers in China During the Covid-19 Pandemic

photograph: humphery Download full report Summary This report offers an overview of the current social problems facing women workers in China in their work and life, with a key focus on the intersection of gender inequality and class inequality for women migrant workers.  The literal meaning of the Chinese word “女工” is “woman worker”, but the term connotes a social class, that of a manual labor, as well as a sense of mobility between rural villages and cities for the…

Read MoreWomen Workers in China During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Silent Victims of Labor Trafficking: China’s Belt and Road workers stranded overseas amid Covid-19 pandemic

Download the report   Left: Workers’ signatures and fingerprints on a group petition letter for returning home Middle: A worker injured his back at work receiving no medical attention, walking with a bucket to support himself Right: A worker lost an eye after a work-related accident with no medical treatment Foreword Since the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Chinese migrant workers stranded overseas have been unable to return home. In response, China Labor Watch started investigating…

Read MoreSilent Victims of Labor Trafficking: China’s Belt and Road workers stranded overseas amid Covid-19 pandemic

Workers in Misery: An Investigation into Two Toy Factories

Download the Report Thousands of toys are sold each day, bringing joy, happiness and smiles to the faces of children. At the same time, workers in toy factories in Guangdong Province, China struggle to cope with the high-pressure environment and the long working day. One of the workers is so exhausted because of the high production targets every day, that her body ached all over, and she could not help but cry in the dormitories. Another female worker was sexually…

Read MoreWorkers in Misery: An Investigation into Two Toy Factories