Protecting workers' rights is good for business, in China and elsewhere
Lowell Chow finds Chinese companies becoming more open to change
A report this month by the Fair Labour Association into working conditions at two Chinese factories operated by Apple's supplier Quanta Computer found multiple problems. Among them were excessive working hours, workers having to pay hiring fees to labour brokers and verbal abuse by supervisors. In response, Apple said it was working closely with Quanta to improve conditions. Earlier in the month, Samsung Electronics had said it would do 30 per cent less business with its supplier Dongguan Shinyang Electronics, after child labour was found at its factory.
Exposés of poor working conditions at Chinese suppliers to major brand names get a lot of attention. But this is just part of a much bigger picture of business' human rights impact in the greater China region. Equally important are the social effects of major companies on their workers and local communities - even when the link with international brands is missing.
We invite companies to respond to civil society allegations in areas such as working conditions and environmental pollution. This week, we looked at 223 such approaches: 127 to Chinese companies regarding concerns about their operations at home or overseas; and 96 to non-Chinese firms operating in or sourcing from the region.
We found that firms with headquarters in greater China are more open to engaging on human rights issues than one might think. Despite a lower response rate for Chinese firms (50 per cent, compared with 77 per cent for multinational companies operating in the region), when Chinese firms do respond, they are more likely to do so in detail.
Transparency by companies on human rights issues is obviously just a first step. But it is an important one. Through these responses, the firms acknowledge that they are aware of the allegations, and provide an on-the-record position that they can then be held to.
Despite promising signs, however, there is still a very long way to go. The situation of the millions of migrant workers in mainland China is still precarious. Pollution of air and water continues to harm communities' right to health, leading to protests. Chinese firms operating overseas are regularly subject to human rights allegations.