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China: Wal-Mart to Investigate Abuses By Supplier |
Wal-Mart is investigating claims of labor law abuse after a series of severe workplace injuries at a major Chinese supplier which makes home electronic appliances. Following the release of a report from Scholars and Students against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), Wal-Mart on August 20th promised a thorough investigation of the supplier factory owned by Elec-Tech.
The SACOM report detailed a series of accidents that have befallen factory workers in the Elec-Tech factory this year, including 22 separate disability claims in the past six months. The labor group independently confirmed that seven of those claims to the local government involved severed fingers and limbs, mostly among workers operating heavy plastic molding equipment with very little training. Wal-Mart vowed quick action to determine whether the factory has violated its supplier agreement. The company has pledged zero tolerance policy for its suppliers in China regarding labor and environment infractions. This is the first high-profile test of that pledge. Wal-Mart said that they take reports like this very seriously and that they will make very prompt remedial action if the investigation confirms the findings. The report said that the factory’s apparent lack of training and refusal to upgrade outdated and unsafe machinery amounted to blatant violations of China’s workplace safety laws. Chinese government officials have not become involved in the case.
“Wal-Mart Supplier in China Accused Of Abuses That Caused Worker Injuries,” BNA Daily Labor Report, 9/3/2010.
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