New York, December 16, 2021 – – This fall, China Labor Watch sent undercover investigators to two printer cartridge manufacturers in Zhuhai, China and discovered an alarming number of labor rights violations.
China Labor Watch, a nonprofit investigating workers’ rights, released the report “Abuse in the Printing Supply Chain: An Investigation into Two Cartridge Manufacturers” to expose illegal and abusive labor practices in the growing third-party printer cartridge industry in China.
After a weeks-long undercover investigation and 86 worker interviews, China Labor Watch discovered that Zhuhai National Resources & Jingjie Printing Technology and Zhuhai Maetone Infotech violated Chinese Law by denying workers paid leave, violating overtime limits, issuing false paychecks, failing to purchase social insurance, issuing late and incomplete labor contracts, and failing to provide workplace safety training. Zhuhai Maetone Infotech’s factory conditions are unsafe and hazardous with the urgent risk of death and injury from combustible dust explosions.
With a surge of remote workers requiring printer cartridges for home offices, many consumers are purchasing printer products from online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, unaware that the factories producing these goods abuse and exploit their workers.
The report seeks to increase supply chain transparency for consumers and to encourage Chinese authorities, online marketplaces, and Zhuhai National Resources & Jingjie Printing Technology and Zhuhai Maetone Infotech to improve conditions for workers.