Sexual assaults occur with alarming frequency and are not reported, as the women fear losing their jobs. In one National Labor Committee report, women as young as 17 were not allowed to go to the bathroom for their entire shift. Forced Overtime Employers regularly use threats of denied wages, physical abuse or unemployment to coerce overtime work. Production quotas are often raised for those refusing overtime and many are simply fired for refusal to work for less than 48 hours a week. Shifts of 17 hours are common throughout the world, and many workers are denied even one day off per week.
Overtime pay is slim to none in global sweatshops.
Employers are infamous for forcing overtime by announcing more work at quitting time, locking the factory s doors and often leaving young mothers with no child care options. In countries like Malaysia, the number of workers making shoes, clothing and textiles has increased 600 percent since 1970. The U.S. has lost more than 400,000 jobs since 1973. With this trend in global production likely to continue, it is crucial that every link in the supply chain be transparent. Companies are farming production out to suppliers who are in turn subcontracting out to other suppliers which tends to hide exactly who is producing for whom.