In March 2000, several women at Pou Yuen reported that most of the workers assembling Timberland shoes were then earning 400 to 500 rmb per month, working approximately 55 hours per week. The highest take-home wage for production workers appeared to be 38 cents an hour. At any given time there are up to 280 trainees employed at the factory. Fahrenheit Besides complaining about the excessively high production goals, the extremely long, forced overtime hours, the exhaustion of working seven days a week and the low wages, the women also reported that during the hot season temperatures in the factory would regularly exceed 100 degrees. Especially in the technical section, the factory air is thick with dust, and in the adhesive area there is a strong smell of chemicals.
Workers handle toxic glues and other solvents without gloves.
There is inadequate ventilation in the plant, and noise levels around certain machinery equals that of a New York City express train racing through a station. The workers were very upset that they had no idea how their wages were calculated and that they varied so much from month to month. The workers have no idea how the various piece rates are set, or what exactly is being deducted from their wages. They are left completely in the dark. None of the Pou Yuen workers our researchers spoke with had ever seen or even heard of the Timberland Code of Conduct.