A sweatshop in Guangdong

labor - Labor authorities blacklist 20 sweatshops

Labor authorities in Guangdong province have blacklisted twenty sweatshops in their province because they did not comply with the labor law, Chinese media write.

One of these shops forced each of its 116 workers to work an extra 123.44 hours in March without pay. Another shop underpaid workers 4.8 million yuan (US$593,300). Some shops even hired children as laborers.

It is very unlikely this will deter other enterprises in the province from ignoring the labor regulations. A bigger company like shoe-producer Adidas deals with about 2,000 enterprises that are part of the logistical chain to produce their sport shoes. "And then we do not include the work that has been outsourced by those companies," says a person close to the operation. "It is very hard to keep a grip on that process."