(Ecns.cn)--Labor abuses such as long working hours, extremely low salaries and ignorance of laws regulating overtime pay or minimum wages continue to characterize the factories and shopping outlets of China – including those run by high-end luxury brands that cater to wealthy people both here and abroad.
In a recent open letter to Gucci from some of its former Chinese employees, the famous Italian luxury tycoon was accused of treating its workers in Shenzhen with little humanity.
Sweatshops for luxury
Five former employees of a Gucci flagship store in Shenzhen publicly released the letter, which was also addressed to Gucci senior executives in China, saying that the company's Chinese employees are subject to harsh working conditions and unreasonable rules.
The five people called the flagship store a "sweatshop" and claimed that they had been mistreated often and forced to work overtime without fair compensation.
They further alleged that they had been required to stand up for more than 12 hours a day, and had also been told to stay after work and conduct inventory checks until 2 or 3 a.m. the next morning.
The heavy overtime workload and late nightshifts resulted in the miscarriages of more than one pregnant saleswoman, according to the letter.
When they wanted to drink water or go to the washroom, the employees had to ask their superiors for permission, but were not allowed to spend more than five minutes in the restroom, according to one of the former workers.
In addition, if any goods in the shop were stolen, all of the employees had to take responsibility. According to one of them, her salary had been deducted while she was on marriage leave because store merchandise had been stolen while she was away.
This practice takes place despite the fact that all of Gucci's goods are insured, which means that the company receives insurance compensation on top of the money it withholds from employees as collective punishment for missing merchandise.
Staff members at Gucci's Shenzhen stores reportedly lost more than 70,000 yuan ($11,111) from their salaries when 16 items in their charge went missing from 2009 to the end of last August.
