There can, in the worst of cases, be a very thin line between prison labor and factory labor. In this particular case, the line does not seem to exist. Control of Workers' Bodily Functions and Physical Mistreatment Workers, be they men or women, often do not have the right to control many of their own bodily functions during work hours or even outside work hours. Penalties range from the kind of physical punishment described in the letter, to wage deductions even for infringements of rules outside work hours, or dismissals, which usually mean forfeiting one's deposit and the last two weeks' pay. Often workers are deprived of their right to rest because of long enforced overtime.
Management owing workers' wages is also very common.
The Chinese government allows localities to set their own minimum wage standards, which range from about 270 to 380 yuan a month, depending on the locality's cost of living. But the minimum wage has really become the maximum paid to workers in some parts of China. Any wage beyond the minimum wage is usually earned by enforced overtime. The use of private security guards is very common in China today. The Zhaojie case is particularly extreme, however, in that more than 100 guards were hired for a factory of 2,700 workers.