Santa's Workshop
Sometimes we have no choice, we work till dawn. When you work all night you become dizzy and your eyes hurt because you can't take any breaks.
SANTA'S WORKSHOP takes you to the real world of China's toy factories. Workers tell us about long working hours, low wages, and dangerous work places.
Those who protest or try to organize trade unions risk imprisonment. Low labor costs attract more and more companies to China. Today more than 75% of our toys are made in China. But this industry takes its toll on the workers and on the environment.
The European (and American) buyers blame bad conditions on the Chinese suppliers. But they say that increasingly hard competition gives them no option. Who should we believe? And what can you do to bring about a fairer and more humane toy trade?
i worked there on £9.50 per hour
The West said they were inventive, discipline, hard working, sensible and economically progressive, while the East including China is the opposite, the other. In the toy industry the West is beaten by the East hands down. The West said the smart one can't be beaten by the ignorant, chaotic, lazy, erratic and economically stagnant East, particular Chinese. So the only way to explain away the West's failure due to their arrogance, laziness, greed, self-centered, economically-short sighted is to make a documentary to portray China is regressive, no human rights, salve factories, etc. in order to make sense to the author and the brain washed majority.
If you want to know why everything is so expensive and few jobs in the usa? Corporate price gouging and union labor costs. So we have union run car plants moving overseas and Japanese non union car plants in the usa doing great. That should tell you plenty.
Unions?! Ha. That is much of the reason that CAUSED the problem to begin with. Factories in western countries got tired of unions always wanting more for doing less. A union is nothing but an extortion gang too chicken to risk STARTING THEIR OWN COMPANY and COMPETE; which would be actual capitalism not the misuse of the term by socialists who can never admit to the true nature of that system and its inherent evil in robbing people of their freedom under the guise of taking care of things that the person should be taking care of themselves, like healthcare and running their own business. A union is the perfect training ground for socialism. The union bosses run the show and dictate whether you work or not. How wonderful. Talk to some union workers who have a conscience and follow the right way to do a job, such as an electrical installation. If they don't cut corners as instructed, they don't get assigned another job.
The solution is for the people to gather together, send half as much home and put the other half towards their own company. There are companies in the usa where the workers own it and work it. That is not socialism where govt dictates or a union dictates or corporatism where a corporate boss dictates. It is capitalism where YOU decide how things will be. And if you don't like it with that group, start your own.
The problem is the education. Education throughout the world has been taken over by those of the socialist evil mentality who want you all to be wage slaves and teach you to be good little workers instead of good self reliant entrepreneurs.
There are many rich entrepreneurs in China. Watch a documentary on that. Many do business with other entrepreneurs supplying what parts they need and modifications very quickly UNLIKE A UNION run outfit does with a bunch of workers whose only concern is doing as little as they have to and race home to get a beer. And when the union boss tells them to vote to strike, they do. How much was that union boss paid under the table by the corporate heads to call for a strike so they can have an excuse to move to asia to get out from under the union altogether? Maybe. Maybe not. But very FEW ever thinks they get paid enough for what they do.
It is understandable to feel sorry for others but to condemn them to another bad idea like a union would be perfectly playing into the hands of those who run the world and are hoping that is the next step you take rather competing with THEM.
"The consumers aren't willing to pay the real cost for Chinese labor." Granted, some items are very cheap but more are also expensive and still made in China. These CEOs need to stop sugarcoating and say the truth- the CEO is not willing to decrease his own profit and disperse it to the laborers.
All those people need is a spark, this makes me think about the real Labor Party now known as Communist party who is very far from is initial ideas.
Nobody should live in those conditions !
The sclave of today will rule the world !!!
they ar working for the generations thet will come .good for them same on us for being so lazy.sorry by bad english im from soviet country.
Is it not an irony that the computer, tablet or smartphone you are watching this Docu. most likely has components made with slave labour.
although i think this Wong guy's logic is laughable, he did have a point. Same thing are happening in Indonesia, labors want minimum fee raised to around US$200 a month. They are in talks with business & gov't right now. The difference here and China? labor union.
Definitely this Wong guy only tried to scrape theories here and there, injected it in his arguments but dude, "you're all over the map".
Phil Wong sounds like a troll to me. This is a damning documentary on blatant exploitation. This is not a transition downward. This is the new labor market for tomorrow's workers around the world.
moving the problem to another country doesnt make it go away... the west still uses slaves, just not where we can see them
if china were to turn into a democracy where this was prevented, who will make our toys? and who would make chinas toys?
it doesnt work just to hide the problem, consumerism and greed are the driving force here, change wont happen unless somebody profits from it
As long as there are retail cartels, Walmart, Target etc. waiting for cheaply made product for their stores, the exploitive conditions will remain as status quo. And the consumers are more than happy to pack these outlets in search of the "big bargains."
The consumers should not have to bother themselves with this. Why should they? It's the job of the Chinese govt. to make sure their citizens are cared for under their labour laws. If only they did care, these workers would get better wages and their working conditions would improve. Ultimately we'd end up paying more for their toys and electronics but I think that would only be fair. At the moment, cheap chinese labour is killing competitors in other countries who are more accommodating towards their labour force. Bottom line is that China needs democracy... Or a 'Regime Change' if you know what I mean... I do wonder why the chinese people haven't overthrown their oppressors by now if everyone was unhappy there.
That's what happens when you have a nation full of trained monkeys. I'm not saying Chinese are trained monkeys because they are Chinese, I'm saying they are trained monkeys because each and every one of them is raised in exactly the same education system that teaches them to never ever step out of line or take the risk of thinking for themselves. Some of them are smart enough to overcome this but the majority never will.
If the Chinese government wasn't so horribly insecure and wasn't scared out of their brains at the idea of having an aware citizenry, then the majority wouldn't need to compete for the lowest wages in the world. They could actually use their brains to make money instead of doing what robots can do.
You don't earn the right to be paid more by accomplishing less. That's not how the world works and nor should it. If you insist that x% of the citizens must have brains limited to that of a factory worker, well guess what, x% will have to work in factories. On top of that, they have to compete for the lowest wages with whoever else can work in factories (e.g. vietnamese, cambodians, etc). Why would people pay a premium for something that robots can do? Why would we pay more to Chinese to do something when we could pay Africans to do it instead and save them from starving to death? Are Blacks less entitled to food water and shelter than Asians? I don't think so. If you want to go and pay 5x the price for the same thing, fine, shutup and do it, but don't expect everyone else to do it too.
What's most shocking is that people in countries like the US don't understand that they are going to end up like this too, thanks to the dumbing down of the population by the "your ignorance is as good as my knowledge" movement (e.g. teaching creationism instead of science in schools).
Many of you guys really aren't getting it, Capitalism IS the reason the only other alternative to working like this is to have no job. We are dependent on the resources and cheap labor of other nations to continue our way of life. In fact if you check out Stephen Kinzer's book "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq" you will see what happens to these"poor country's" when they decide they want to restrict these transnational corporations in order to keep the wealth for themselves...they are killed, tortured and/or imprisoned, democracy's overthrown and replaced my cruel dictatorships that allow big businesses to come in and make HUGE Profits. The United States has overthrown 14 governments in the name of HUGE PROFITS, you all should know that, I don't know about Europe, but the ideal is the same. As long as capitalism is alive, the ideal of it is up to each individual to go out and make a profit, there will be constant war and suffering for the majority of the world. When is the world gonna wake up and notice that hey, EVERYONE DESERVES FOOD, WATER, HEALTH CARE, A PLACE TO LIVE AND A JOB THAT NOURISHES THEIR LIFE AND THE PLANET AS WELL. We have to stop thinking like selfish barbarians and understand that the Earth has more than enough for us all to have just that, we could all THRIVE and live in peace and respect for one another. I also have to comment on that one guy in the movie who said, well the customers don't want to pay a higher price for these goods, well my answer is STOP MAKING THE CRAP THEN! At such a huge price to those women and the environment, I will gladly stop buying my kids stupid plastic toys they don't need anyway- send your kids outside to play, trust me the dirt, rocks, and trees are much more interesting anyway! Come on people this is SLAVERY, no body is saying it but that is exactly what it is...in order to get ahead at all these people have to work around the clock and skip meals, anyone who defends Capitalism should be forced to move to China and work in a plastic factory, 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no breaks!!!! Things look awfully different to those who are not in the place of profit!
This is funny to me..
I guess we should just move all those Apple jobs back to the US, and let those poor exploit Chinese factory workers back to abject poverty in the country side, or the farm. Is this what these activists want?
I remember I got employed in McDonald's in Sydney when I was 15. The youngest there as like 12. So don't come out and dramatise "child labour". It's extremely disgusting to see people in developed countries magnifies this issue while child labour being legalised in their countries.
Under the current system, "you don't work, you die". Unless we can come together and change the system, "CHILD LABOUR" will persist everywhere. Developed countries are no exception.
globalization, a world where everyone wins.
This is stupid!!!!!! Chinese see TVs wide screen
Thank you for making this doc-thank you for sharing his doc-it is now on my facebook page-Shame Shame Shame---
Nothing new..
These are exact conditions in India, I have worked with some global brand-names which offer same working conditions.
I have seen welders weld with no protective glass, they just shut their eyes.
There is no way out.
What is sad is that due to the huge population and current economic situation in China, for every worker who is unwilling to work in these conditions and hours, there are many more who will brave worse.
On the positive side, migrant workers work here are earning much more than they ever would back at home. This is, in fact, a step up in their lives - if they can bear.
Cc - there is no spiked drug LOL. Their opium is their society. And on a purely economic side, drugs cost money and bosses won't incur more expenses.
Very disturbing, feel very sad for those people. Not only are they brainwashed and conditioned to think they deserve no better. Their water and food that is 'provided' is probably 'spiked' with chemicals/drugs to keep them anesthesied.
Interesting.....the Land of the Free/ United States is allowing poisons in our water and food also....the purpose - heck who really knows----
When search for chemical raw material, it's been a while I stay away from chineses. A few exceptions as the water soluble PVA produced by the Jap company at most. But a huge company close to offer better lifestyle than many USA based ones. Stll, they come up with unbeatable prices.
And there are quite a few other "New" advanced tech. companies like that produce epoxies in Thailand who's now quite a leader, the other one in the Filipines that produce emulsions. Not yet a leader but...
So, as much as some chinese producers are over exploiting workers in China, the workers who wants to get forward and lead do have opportunities.
Bare in mind that the political system over there is socialism.
For the least, in principle.
Something absent in many other countries.
Pierre.
It's fascinating to watch the blame being pushed around. It's the worker's fault, no, it's the factories' fault, no, it's the client's fault and last but not least, it's the customer's fault. The head in the sand attitude is quite remarkable.