In Chinese Factories, Lost Fingers and Low Pay
中国工厂：失去的手指和低工资
作者：DAVID BARBOZA
原载2008年1月5日《纽约时报》
GUANGZHOU, China ― Nearly a decade after some of the most powerful companies in the world ― often under considerable criticism and consumer pressure ― began an effort to eliminate sweatshop labor conditions in Asia, worker abuse is still commonplace in many of the Chinese factories that supply Western companies, according to labor rights groups.
广州，中国―― 十年前，世界上一些最大的公司，面对巨大的批评和消费者压力，开始努力消除亚洲的血汗工厂。但是十年后，根据一些劳工权利团体的说法，工人遭受虐待在一些西方公司的中国供应商中，仍然是普遍现象。
The groups say some Chinese companies routinely shortchange their employees on wages, withhold health benefits and expose their workers to dangerous machinery and harmful chemicals, like lead, cadmium and mercury.
一些劳工权益团体指出，一些中国工厂仍在克扣雇员工资，扣压他们的健康福利，让工人在危险的机器和有害化学物质中工作。
“If these things are so dangerous for the consumer, then how about the workers?” said Anita Chan, a labor rights advocate who teaches at the Australian National University. “We may be dealing with these things for a short time, but they deal with them every day.”
澳大利亚国立大学劳工权益倡导者陈敏(Anita Chan)说，“如果这些东西对消费者来说都是如此危险，那么对工人来说又会如何呢？我们(消费者)可以在短期内应付这些事情，但他们要在每一天都得应对这些问题。”
And so while American and European consumers worry about exposing their children to Chinese-made toys coated in lead, Chinese workers, often as young as 16, face far more serious hazards. Here in the Pearl River Delta region near Hong Kong, for example, factory workers lose or break about 40,000 fingers on the job every year, according to a study published a few years ago by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
在美国和欧洲消费者担心中国含铅量过高的玩具会让自己的孩子中毒之际，中国工厂的一些年纪在十六七岁的工人则面对着更严重的危害。据上海社科院早前公布的一份研究报告称，在靠近香港的珠江三角洲地区，那里的工人每年都有4万个手指被切断。
Pushing to keep big corporations honest, labor groups regularly smuggle photographs, videos, pay stubs, shipping records and other evidence out of factories that they say violate local law and international worker standards. In 2007, factories that supplied more than a dozen corporations, including Wal-Mart, Disney and Dell, were accused of unfair labor practices, including using child labor, forcing employees to work 16-hour days on fast-moving assembly lines, and paying workers less than minimum wage. (Minimum wage in this part of China is about 55 cents an hour.)
为了让一些大的跨国公司保持广大保持诚实，国际劳工团体经常把一些照片、录像、工资单、出货清单和其它证据“弄”出工厂，他们说这些血汗工厂不但违反了中国法律也违反了国际劳工标准。2007年，中国十多家为沃尔玛、迪斯尼和戴尔供货的工厂，被指控存在着严重的不公平劳动作为，其中包括雇用童工，强迫工人每天工作16小时以上，支付最低的工资。（在中国该地区的最低工资大约为每小时55美分。）
In recent weeks, a flood of reports detailing labor abuse have been released, at a time when China is still coping with last year’s wave of product safety recalls of goods made in China, and as it tries to change workplace rules with a new labor law that took effect on Jan. 1.
最近几星期，有关中国工厂虐待工人的报告相继被公开，而中国方面则仍在对付去年出现的中国不安全的商品在海外被大批召回的事件。此外，中国官方也在新劳动法于今年1月1日生效后，正努力改变工厂的工作规则。
No company has come under as harsh a spotlight as Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, which sourced about $9 billion in goods from China in 2006, everything from hammers and toys to high-definition televisions.
没有一家公司象美国的零售商沃尔玛那样被严厉地置于聚光灯下。2006年，这家零售巨头的90亿美元商品来自中国，其品种几乎包罗万象，从锤子到玩具到高清晰度电视。
In December, two nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, documented what they said were abuse and labor violations at 15 factories that produce or supply goods for Wal-Mart ― including the use of child labor at Huanya Gifts, a factory here in Guangzhou that makes Christmas tree ornaments.
2007年12月，两家非政府组织公开了中国15家为沃尔玛生产或供应的工厂，严重违反劳工规定和虐待工人的调查，其中就包括专门为美国零售商生产圣诞装饰树的广州市环亚礼品厂。
Wal-Mart officials say they are investigating the allegations, which were in a report issued three weeks ago by the National Labor Committee, a New York-based NGO.
沃尔玛的官员称，他们正在对这些报告所指控的内容展开调查，其中的一份报告是总部设在纽约的非政府组织全国劳工委员会于三周前公开的。
Guangzhou labor bureau officials said they recently fined Huanya for wage violations, but also said they found no evidence of child labor.
广州市劳动部门官员表示，他们最近已对环亚礼品厂违反工资规定进行了罚款，但他们强调没有发现这家工厂雇用童工。
A spokesman for Huanya, which employs 8,000 workers, denied that the company broke any labor laws.
而雇用8000多名工人的环亚礼品厂官方则表示，该公司没有违反任何劳工法。
But two workers interviewed outside Huanya’s huge complex in late December said that they were forced to work long hours to meet production quotas in harsh conditions.
不过12月底，在环亚巨大的厂房外面，两个工人接受了采访。他们说，为了完成指标，他们被迫在恶劣的条件下长时间工作。
“I work on the plastic molding machine from 6 in the morning to 6 at night,” said Xu Wenquan, a tiny, baby-faced 16-year-old whose hands were covered with blisters. Asked what had happened to his hands, he replied, the machines are “quite hot, so I’ve burned my hands.”
“我在塑料成型机上工作，从早六点工作到晚六点，”长着一张娃娃脸、双手布满水泡的徐文泉(音译)说。他只有16岁，长很瘦小。在被问道手上为何全是水泡时，他说机器太热，烧的。
His brother, Xu Wenjie, 18, said the two young men left their small village in impoverished Guizhou Province four months ago and traveled more than 500 miles to find work at Huanya.
徐文泉的哥哥、18岁的徐文杰(音译)说，四个月前，他带着弟弟离开生长的贵族省贫穷的农村，来到广州在环亚礼品厂(音译)找到工作。
The brothers said they worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, for $120 to $200 a month, far less than they are required to be paid by law.
哥俩每天都要工作12小时，每周六天，月工资120美元至200美元，远远低于法律所规定的工资。
When government inspectors visit the factory, the young brothers are given the day off, they said.
他们还说，每当政府检查小组来工厂视察时，这对年轻的兄弟就被放假回家。
A former Huanya employee who was reached by telephone gave a similar account of working conditions, saying many workers suffered from skin rashes after working with gold powders and that others were forced to sign papers “volunteering” to work overtime.
另一位环亚礼品厂的前职工在接受电话采访时，也描述了同样的事实，称这家工厂的许多工人由于在工作中经常接触金粉，都患有皮肤疹。此外，还有一些工人被迫与厂方签定“自愿”加班加点的协议。
“It’s quite noisy, and you stand up all day, 12 hours, and there’s no air-conditioning,” he said. “We get paid by the piece we make but they never told us how much. Sometimes I got $110, sometimes I got $150 a month.”
“工厂的噪音非常大，每天得站着工作12小时，车间内也没有安装空调。”他说。“我们实行计件付酬，但是厂方从来不告诉我们准确的数字。有时候我能挣110美元，有时候能挣150美元，”
In its 58-page report, the National Labor Committee scolded Wal-Mart for not doing more to protect workers. The group charged that last July, Huanya recruited about 500 16-year-old high school students to work seven days a week, often 15 hours a day, during peak production months for holiday merchandise.
在美国非政府组织全国劳工委员会公开的58页报告中，指责美国零售商沃尔玛在保护中国工人方面没有做出更多工作。该组织指控说，2007年7月，广州环亚礼品厂在为节日零售商生产订货的高峰期，共招收了500名16岁的高中生，让他们每周工作7天，每天15个小时。
Several students interviewed at the Guangzhou Technical School, less than two miles from Huanya, confirmed that classmates ages 16 to 18 had spent the summer working at the factory.
一些学生在广州技工学校接受采访，这所学校距离环亚不足两英里。他们证实，暑假期间去环亚礼品厂打工的学生都是16岁到18岁。
Some high school students later went on strike to protest the harsh conditions, the report said. The students also told labor officials that at least seven children, as young as 12 years old, were working in the factory.
美国全国劳工委员会的报告说，随后一些高中生为抗议该厂的苛刻条件而举行罢工。学生们还告诉劳工官员，当时至少有7名以上的学生年纪在12岁。
“At Wal-Mart, Christmas ornaments are cheap, and so are the lives of the young workers in China who make them,” the National Labor Committee report said.
美国全国劳工委员会的调查报告指出，“在沃尔玛商店，圣诞节装饰树非常便宜，而生产它们的中国年轻工人的生命也是如此。”
Jonathan Dong, a Wal-Mart spokesman in Beijing, said the company would soon release details of its own investigation into working conditions at Huanya.
面对非政府组织的指责，沃尔玛北京公司的发言人Jonathan Dong表示，该公司将会很公布一份自己对广州环亚礼品厂所展开的详细调查。
Labor rights groups have also criticized Disney and Dell. Officials of Disney and Dell declined to comment on specific allegations, but both companies say they carefully monitor factories in China and take action when they find problems or unfair labor practices.
非政府组织和国际劳工团体也对美国的迪斯尼公司和戴尔公司提出批评。两家公司的官员都拒绝对调查报告中的指控发表评论，但表示将会严密监控中国生产厂的工作条件，声称若是发现 或不公平的劳动行为，将会采取行动。
“The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates take claims of unfair labor practices very seriously and investigates any such allegations thoroughly,” the company said in a statement. “We have a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of workers, and fair and just labor standards.”
“沃尔特?迪斯尼集团及其下属公司，非常严肃地看待不公平的用工问题，将彻底调查任何类似的指控，”迪斯尼公司在一份声明中说。“我们对工人的安全和福利抱有强烈的责任感，对公平的劳动制度也是如此。”
Many multinationals were harshly criticized in the 1990s for using suppliers that maintained sweatshop conditions. Iconic brand names, like Nike, Mattel and Gap, responded by forming corporate social responsibility operations and working with contractors to create a system of factory audits and inspections. Those changes have won praise in some quarters for improving worker conditions.
在上个世纪九十年代，许多跨国公司因利用中国供应商保护血汗工厂的条件而遭到严厉批评。随后，一些标志性品牌如耐克、美泰玩具、GAP等作出回应，形成了企业的社会责任运作并与承包商一起建立一套工厂审核和检查制度。这些变化改善了一些工人的条件，赢得了一些称赞。
But despite spending millions of dollars and hiring thousands of auditors, some companies acknowledge that many of the programs are flawed.
但也有一些公司承认，尽管花费了数百万美元来雇用数千名审计员，但许多程序是有问题的。
“The factories have improved immeasurably over the past few years,” says Alan Hassenfeld, chairman of the toy maker Hasbro and co-chairman of Care, the ethical-manufacturing program of the International Council of Toy Industries. “But let me be honest: there are some bad factories. We have bribery and corruption occurring but we are doing our best.”
玩具工业国际理事会的相关负责人Alan Hassenfeld表示，“过去几年已有一些工厂得到很大的改进，但是我必须说，仍然存在一些坏工厂。它们企图贿赂我们，但是我们没有受到影响。”
Some factories are warned about audits beforehand and some factory owners or managers bribe auditors. Inexperienced inspectors may also be a problem.
一些工厂事先就知道检查人员何时到达，一些厂主或者经理贿赂检查人员。另一些，缺乏有经验的检查人员也是一个问题。
Some major Western auditing firms working in China even hire college students from the United States to work during the summer as inspectors, an indication that they are not willing to invest in more expensive or sophisticated auditing programs, critics say.
一些西方的大审计公司，甚至从美国高校里雇用学生，暑假到中国来当检查员。批评者说，这表明它们不愿意开展那些费钱费力的检查程序。
Chinese suppliers regularly outsource to other suppliers, who may in turn outsource to yet another operation, creating a supply chain that is hard to follow ― let alone inspect.
中国的供应商通常会将订单外包给其他供应商，后者可能还会转报，这创造了一条很难追踪的供应链，使得检查变得非常困难。
“The convoluted supply chain is probably one of the most underestimated and unrecognized risks in China,” says Dane Chamorro, general manager for Greater China at Control Risks, a risk-consulting firm. “You really have to have experienced people on the ground who know what they’re doing and know the language.”
“复杂的供应链也许是中国最被低估、最没有被认识到的风险之一，”一家风险咨询公司的大中华区风险控制主管Dane Chamorro说。“你真的需要聘请最底层那些有经验的人，他们知道供应商会做什么，了解这个行业。”
Many labor experts say part of the problem is cost: Western companies are constantly pressing their Chinese suppliers for lower prices while also insisting that factory owners spend more to upgrade operations, treat workers properly and improve product quality.
此外，许多劳动专家都指出，问题的部分原因就是成本问题：西方国家的公司正不断迫使其中国供应商降低价格，同时还要求中国厂家在提高运作，妥善对待职工及提高产品质量等方面加大投资。
At the same time, rising food, energy and raw material costs in China ― as well as a shortage of labor in the biggest southern manufacturing zones ― are hampering factory owners’ ability to make a profit.
与此同时，中国的能源和原材料成本又在不断涨价，而中国南方的劳动力市场也出现短缺，这些问题正阻碍中国供应商的获利能力。
The situation may get worse before it improves. The labor law that took effect on Jan. 1 makes it more difficult to dismiss workers and creates a whole new set of laws that experts say will almost certainly increase labor costs. Yet it may become more difficult for human rights groups to investigate abuses. Concerned about the growing array of threats to profitability, as well as embarrassing exposés, factories are heightening security, harassing labor rights groups and calling the police when journalists show up at their gates.
这种局面在得到改善前，还可能会继续恶化。中国1月1日生效的劳动法让解雇工人变得更加困难，一些法律专家称，这个全新的法规几乎肯定会使劳动成本增加。然而，它可能也会使人权和劳工团体对中国工厂虐待工人展开调查变得更加困难。由于考虑到日益增加的威胁，如盈利能力以及令人尴尬的内幕被揭露，中国工厂都开始加强安全管理，对劳工权益团体的调查进行骚扰，当记者出现在工厂大门口时就会报警。
At the center of the problem is a labor system that relies on young migrant workers, who often leave small rural villages for two- or three-year stints at factories, where they hope to earn enough to return home to start families.
这个中心问题就是劳工制度，它依赖于离开农村的年轻民工，他们经常离家出走两三年，希望赚些钱后返回农村结婚生子。
As long as life in the cities promises more money than in rural areas, they will brave the harsh conditions in factories in this and other Chinese cities. And as long as China outlaws independent unions and proves unable to enforce its own labor rules, there is little hope for change.
只要城市能让他们看到可以比农村赚更多的钱，他们就会勇敢地接受工厂苛刻的条件。只要中国没有独立的工会，它就无法执行自己的劳工法，改变现状也就希望不大。
“This is a problem that has been difficult to solve,” Liu Kaiming, the director of the Institute on Contemporary Observation, which aids migrant workers in nearby Shenzhen, said of sweatshop labor. “China has too many factories. The workers’ bargaining position is weak and the government’s regulation is slack.”
“这是一个一直难以解决问题，”深圳当代社会观察研究所所长刘开明(音译)在谈到中国的血汗工厂时说，“中国有太多的工厂。工人们讨价还价的地位很弱，而政府的监管又不力。”
There is little that any Western company can do about those issues, no matter how seriously they take corporate social responsibility ― other than leaving China.
在这方面，不管西方公司多么严肃地看待公司的社会责任，它们能发挥的作用非常小――除非它们选择离开中国。
（完）
此文转自阮一峰网络日志
原文链接见：
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/business/worldbusiness/05sweatshop.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=5eec2e4af4644ba3&ex=1357189200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
