Behind The Arrogance Of GUCCI: Sweatshops Are Normal.

In September 2011, 5 employees who once worked in the GUCCI flagship store in Shenzhen sent an open letter to Gucci's top management of Gucci employees who resigned on the Internet.

In the letter, they expressed their views on the GUCCI flagship store in Shenzhen.

Complaints from employees

GUCCI employees said in an open letter that the company had more than 100 regulations on employees' behavior when they went to work in the store, and many regulations were strict.

Gucci implements the so-called comprehensive working hour system. The working day is about 10 hours a day, but after 10 o'clock every night, the employees have to punch in and work overtime. They often check the goods until two or three in the morning, because even if they work normally, they do not have to calculate overtime pay.

Every night after work, we still need to stay overtime to count the goods.

At 4 in the morning, it was all right.

If there is something stolen in the store, all employees will have to pay compensation.

Shenzhen GUCCI flagship store has lost about 40 items in the past 4 years, averaging 5000 yuan each.

On the one hand, the company can get insurance compensation, and on the other hand, the staff should equally share the money and collectively buckle the money supply company.

Yang Qianwu, partner of Beijing Dacheng (Shenzhen) law firm, acting on behalf of 5 employees, pointed out that Gucci's sweatshop problem is not only a social responsibility, but also a corporate moral issue. Many of these practices are also suspected of breaking the law.

As a big brand in the field of luxury goods, GUCCI's behavior is not in line with its status as a whole. It also violates the public's recognition of this brand.

They did not treat their employees well, nor did they take corresponding responsibilities.

Yang said that the service industry has many harsh requirements for employees' behavior in front of customers, which is a special requirement of the industry, but employees should provide corresponding benefits when they rest in the background.

Reply highlights arrogance

In September 7th, a senior executive of the GUCCI operation Department sent an email to a number of GUCCI stores throughout the country. It was called "(attention!) media customers' secret interview skills," and asked the heads of major stores to "preach to employees at the morning meeting".

This email provides some simple answers to questions about how employees respond to media customers.

GUCCI flagship store, a management personage, disclosed that the company's requirement is mainly to prevent media reporters from speaking in their workers' work, but also to prevent customers from coming to inquire about goods disputes and so on, so as to prevent employees from being stolen to record videos that are not conducive to the company.

Yang Qianwu said that the message, which was less than 500 words, taught employees to use "internal information" to refuse any questions from customers and media, including questions about quality, which obviously had the suspicion of violating the right of consumers to know.

"This email is more like a sealed letter. If GUCCI treats employees well as they claim, they will not ask employees to avoid talking about it," Yang said.

The 5 resignation staff hope that the company will compensate for overtime pay in the open letter. GUCCI (China) Trade Co., Ltd. has made a written reply: "the company has carefully checked the history attendance record and overtime payment information of the company's computer system. According to the information currently held, we can confirm that the company does not have sufficient payment for overtime."

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Shenzhen Luohu District Human Resources Bureau believes that the resignation staff and GUCCI company in overtime and overtime pay calculation method, there is a big controversy, it is impossible to make GUCCI company compensation decision, it is proposed to resign employees to apply for labor arbitration.

According to the introduction, a new Gucci leather bag worth 10000 yuan is worth 700 euros in Europe.

The cost is about 50 euros, plus rivet, buttons, zippers and so on. The total price of a leather bag is not more than 90 euros.

Gucci claims that its leather bags are handmade in Italy.

But this is not the case. Most of the styles are completed by overseas foundry.

After years of global division of labor, luxury goods have formed a complete and meticulous global operation system.

According to the World Luxury Association data, human cost accounts for only 5%-6% of the price of luxury goods. Therefore, the net profit of Gucci brand may exceed 40%.

This industry profit distribution chain has intensified the luxury enterprises' emphasis on external brands and internal management.

Their revenue is too dependent on brand value-added, so there will be particularly harsh demands on services related to brand and store image.

In fact, the accusation that famous multinational companies are trapped in sweatshops is not the first GUCCI.

Before, including Apple Corp, ZARA, Nike and Coca Cola Co were exposed on suspicion of sweatshops.

What is more noteworthy is that the results of negative news exposure are as follows: first, the enterprises concerned have not been severely punished because of exposure. After the media coverage, administrative law enforcement agencies rarely follow up and follow up. Two, the negative news exposure can not affect the strong position of these companies in mainland China.

Who indulged GUCCI?

Many multinational corporations, in many countries, are law-abiding and have a good reputation. Why do we change their faces and become vampires when we arrive?

An enterprise is not a philanthropist but a profit seeking organization. Pursuing profit maximization is its instinct.

If there is no external supervision and restriction, the enterprises should, of course, dig for loopholes in laws and policies to maximize profits.

It includes enhancing labor intensity, reducing labor costs, and even ignoring workers' rights and trample on the dignity of workers.

Why do some pnational corporations not dare to go in their home countries? It is very simple. When workers feel that their rights, such as health, welfare, dignity and freedom, are infringed upon by the constitution, workers can rely on trade unions to let the trade unions come forward to play games with the management and safeguard their rights for workers.

In China, it is not easy to organize rights protection, and judicial relief is not easy.

Not to mention, many enterprises do not welcome trade unions. Even if they are barely established, they are only a dispensable vassal.

When workers really need them, their buttocks don't necessarily sit on either side.

This road is basically blocked up, judicial relief. Apart from the local government's natural aversion to such lawsuits and the defects of labor laws and regulations, some experts have summed up the ten major defects of the existing labor law, for example, giving excessive power to the place, not giving enough attention to the collective contract system, too many labor dispute handling procedures, and the application of legal gaps in foreign labor relations.

This is an important reason why GUCCI employees prefer to be exposed to the Internet rather than Sue.

GUCCI dare to "sweat and sweat" in China, is the inevitable choice after seeing through.

Obviously, if we want to make a sweatshop truly become a stain for enterprises to fear and avoid, we must establish a basic and fully guaranteed labor welfare system.

Otherwise, as long as some multinational corporations still have some institutional benefits, they will be enough to make their competitors look at it without fear of public opinion.

At the same time, supervision and punishment must be implemented.

More than thirty years of market-oriented reform, the basic labor protection laws and regulations have been generally complete.

However, the lack of law enforcement is the key. If the sweatshops are not investigated and followed up after exposure, the credibility of the regulatory authorities will only be questioned.

In addition, we need to help enhance the competitiveness of local manufacturing enterprises and business enterprises.

Without interfering with the survival of the fittest mechanism, the government's targeted support will help speed up the upgrading of China's industrial structure, change the current situation of low-end competition of manufacturing enterprises, and reverse the collective strength of multinational corporations.

"Sweatshops" have become numb "normal", which is even more frightening than unscrupulous companies themselves.