There is a strong chemical odor in the spray painting section, and the temperature in the welding area is excessively high. No worker had ever heard of any so-called U.S. Corporate Code of Conduct, and they had no idea what it might be. The first month s wages are illegally withheld as a deposit, so the workers only receive their first pay during the second month. As is standard in China, no independent union is allowed at the Baoan Bicycle plant. Any public dissent or raising of a grievance is met with firings.
Workers also complain about strict factory rules and harsh management style.
For example, talking during working hours is strictly prohibited. The workers said these wages were too low. Despite all the overtime hours he worked, he was just able to survive, never getting ahead. At the Baoan Bicycle Factory there is no medical insurance or social security pension. The workers have nothing, not even a primitive factory clinic.