Despite recent changes to worker rights laws in China, Nike Inc says it still finds significant labor challenges there.
In the company's first corporate responsibility report focused solely on China, the athletic footwear and apparel giant listed a number of problems, including inadequate management, excessive overtime and workers using false documents to seek employment.
Nike said it decided to release a country-specific report because this year's Olympics in Beijing is attracting so much attention to China.
Nike spokesman Alan Marks said the problems highlighted in the report are "consistent with the problems we face globally."
But the report also states that "corporate responsibility is a relatively new, rapidly evolving business practice in China. Adoption and understanding vary widely."
China is crucial to Nike -- roughly one of every three pairs of Nike shoes sold worldwide are made there. The company has 180 contract manufacturers employing more than 210,000 workers there, primarily young women who have moved from China's countryside into the cities.
After years of foreign pressure on China to improve its labor legislation, the country passed two new laws last year that are intended to improve worker rights.
A labor contract law that went into effect this year sets higher standards for labor contracts, use of temporary workers, layoffs and other employment conditions.
Some hoped the move would encourage independent unionization in the country. Roughly half of Nike's contract employees in China belong to the country's only government-approved union.
A second law expands anti-discrimination protection for migrant workers and those with infectious diseases, two classes of people previously without such protections.
The report shows that there are problems at Nike's contract facilities, including management not understanding or implementing moves to meet Nike's minimum standards.
A self-assessment program found 167 workers who were under the minimum age for workers but are now 18 or older. There were only two current cases of workers in Nike contract facilities under age 18. There were more than 1,000 other cases of people who were of age but had incorrect information on their identification.
"Although we understand that it is often a slow, incremental process to bring about change, we strongly believe that there is much more that can be done," the report states.
The report said that improving conditions for workers throughout Nike's global supply chain "continues to be one of our greatest priorities."
Critics say the report shows continued Nike shortcomings on labor rights issues.
Labor activist Jeff Ballinger says the company continues to position itself heavily in countries where workers do not unionize or where managers often are not willing to bargain to meet worker needs.
"They are hanging on to this wishful thinking kind of other world," Ballinger said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan