In Humen, Huaidelian, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, workers at a sports equipment factory all must do one thing upon starting work at the factory: they have to memorize and recite 32 answers to labour department inspection questions, so that they can prepare for undergoing the labour department’s spot checks. According to the factory employees, when the labour department comes to do a spot check, if you get called on to answer questions and don’t tell the truth, but rather answer in accordance to the factory’s 32 answers, then at the end of the month you’ll receive a bonus of roughly 200 yuan.
Upon Entering the Factory You Must Be Able to Recite 32 Answers
Xiao Fen (name changed) started work at the factory in the middle of 2008. After a short period of time, her unit manager gave her a copy of a manual, on it were 32 answers that she had to memorize. When the labour department comes for an inspection, she had to reply according to this sheet, the manager said.
On 23 April in the afternoon, your correspondent saw this answer sheet. The 32 answers seemed to cover all the questions asked during labour department inspections, including “what time do you start work?”, “how does the company pay for your salary?”, “how is overtime calculated”…etc.
“Every time the labour department comes to do an inspection, the factory always passes out these materials, to make everyone recite them, almost all of it is fake.” Xiao Ming said that each unit is given five or six copies of the material, and everybody looks at it and passes it around. These materials are only allowed within the factory, and it’s generally not permitted to take them out of the factory.
Xiao Gang (name changed) has been at the factory for over three years, and is considered an old employee. Last June she was randomly called on when the labour department came for inspection. “It was: are there overtime payments? What are the rest periods like on the weekends? I replied that we don’t work overtime, just eight hours a day.” Xiao Gang said that she was replying according to the materials, and at the end of the month she got a 200 yuan as a bonus award.
Xiao Gang wasn’t the only “lucky” person. A girl in the same unit as Xiao Fen whose memory is real good was called on twice and she also got the cash bonus. In reality, all the workers do overtime, sometimes up to 13 hours per day, sometimes resting only on Sundays, and the overtime fees that they reported to the labour department aren’t actually paid.
Xiao Fen still hasn’t been called on during the spot inspections. “New employees who just started at the factory aren’t qualified, and so when people come to inspect, the factory gives them time off.” Xiao Fen said that employees that are old, and employees with bad memories also get the day off and aren’t allowed to wear the factory’s uniforms. The next day, the people who took the day off can also redeem a five yuan meal subsidy.
When your correspondent asked a person at the factory about this, the person said that the 32 answers was a matter internal to the company’s affairs, people who aren’t involved with this shouldn’t gossip, and if there any complaints, you can go directly to the labour department. Afterwards, your correspondent took up this affair with the local labour department’s Chen Vice-Director. Chen said that if people complain, the labour department will investigate. Usually the labour inspectors will make non-scheduled visits to factories to do spot checks. “If the 32 answers actually correspond to the actual conditions at the factory, then there’s no problem. If they don’t correspond, then the workers can take the materials to the labour department or a local labour department service station to complain.”