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SCMP Reporter

A diamond processing factory in Guangdong has been ordered to apologise and pay six female workers 4,000 yuan (HK$3,775) each in compensation after strip-searching them.

According to the Hunan-based Xiao Xiang Morning Post,  the Yongzhao Jewellery Factory in the town of Conghua, north of Guangzhou, strip-searched 103 workers last August for lost diamonds. In addition to the strip-search, the company also locked staff in their workshops and barred them from even going to the toilet.

Earlier reports said that despite their efforts, the diamonds were not found.

The Xiao Xiang Morning Post  said the company had forced its workers to sign a consent form agreeing to the search.

They later demanded an apology and compensation, but the factory managed to pressure 97 workers to settle for just 1,000 yuan each and waive their right to take further action.

Six workers turned the offer down and instead filed a lawsuit against the company demanding a public apology and substantial compensation, which an earlier report put at 50,000 yuan each.

The newspaper said a court in Conghua city had since ruled in favour of the six women, awarding them the reduced sum of 4,000 yuan.

It said although the women had signed consent papers, the documents could not be used to justify the strip-search.

It was not the first time female workers have complained about strip-searches by their employers. But labour activists who monitor workplace violations in China say employers often get away by paying the victims meagre compensation or even threatening them with dismissal.

Critics say one of the reasons workers' rights are not protected is because local government officials fear tough enforcement of the law could drive investors away. Furthermore, Chinese laws do not allow workers to form their own unions to defend themselves.



Women who were strip-searched for missing diamonds win payout