Nike Plant Is Being Challenged By Many Problems.

Recently, many problems arising from Nike's foundries are undoubtedly a great test for Nike.

[typical cases]

Staff members of the family want to speak to Nike.

Li Xuebin, an ordinary worker of Zhongshan Weili Textile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wei Li), one of the biggest hat making factories in Asia, died in April at the end of April. When preparing for the funeral, Li Xuebin's family found that Wei Li did not pay social insurance for Li Xuebin, which meant that the family members who should have been correspondingly compensated only got ten thousand yuan pension.

Li Xuebin is not an individual case of Wei Li. After several days' investigation, he found that the phenomenon of not paying social insurance and overtime work existed in this large hat factory. What is quite impressive is that Wei Li has been Nike's qualified Contract Factory for many years.

Li Xuebin's family believes that Nike has an unshirkable responsibility in this matter. In August 20th this year, Li Xuebin's family wrote to Nike headquarters in the United States, but until now, Nike has been unable to give a clear statement.

As of press release, Li Xuebin's family is still rushing around, they want to Nike, "a statement, not for money."

The third party has pointed out that Wei Li problem.

"We don't even have contracts in our hands." Li Xuebin's family members said that even though Li Xuebin and Wei Li had a real employment relationship, the labor contract was always in the hands of the factory.

It is worth mentioning that when the third party organizations had previously investigated the employment situation of Wei Li, they had proposed that employees could not hold a labor contract. But after more than a year, this situation still can not be improved.

"The report of Li Textile Co., Ltd." pointed out that "labor contracts" are not owned by factories and employees, but that two workers are kept on behalf of the factory. The workers usually work for 11 hours a day, six days a week, and the working hours will be longer during the peak season. The workers' wages are paid according to the two pieces of calculation, namely, counting pieces and time, but most workers are piecework wages. The factories will provide accommodation and catering conditions for their employees, but they need to deduct certain expenses from their wages, and the staff reflect the quality of food needs to be improved. The China Labor Watch organization, based in the United States, released last August about "Wei".

For all the "illegal" phenomena reflected in the third party organizations and employees, why has Nike never noticed? "Every time Nike dispatched past auditors, they were also arranged for entertainment and tourism by factory heads." According to former Nike executives who reported to reporters, although Nike regularly checks the employment situation of contract factories, but for various reasons, auditors are mostly "deceived". He thinks Nike has loopholes in its audit.

[field investigation]

Overtime or 112 hours per month

In November 14th, the reporter went to the three town of Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, where Wei Li company was located, a small town with 170 thousand people only half an hour's drive from Sun Zhongshan's hometown.

This is the peak season for production. Even at the end of the week, Wei Li's workers are still working normally. At the gate of the factory, recruitment is in full swing. When a reporter asks for a job as a candidate, Xiang Wei, a man in the Ministry of resources, inquired about the working situation. Suddenly, a woman reluctantly said, "OK, it's going to work overtime until 11."

"We work overtime every day. From 6:30 to Friday night, we work overtime from 6:30 to 9:30. When we are free, we rush to work. We have to go to two or three hours even when we are busy. We only work on Saturday instead of working overtime, and sometimes we work overtime on Sunday." The two young women workers in Weili caps factory said their caps factory is the busiest plant in Weili company, and the overtime phenomenon is more serious. According to it, each worker in the factory can work overtime for 112 hours a month.

"The state stipulates that overtime work can not exceed 36 hours per month, but Nike's regulation is that workers who work overtime within 104 hours a month are counted." A person familiar with the work of human resource management at Nike foundry said.

When the reporter asked the employees of Nike contract factory to ask for overtime work in the Nike Southern China district social responsibility department, the staff of the Department said: "one day's work within 11 hours is in conformity with the regulations." In the social responsibility report previously published by Nike, it was stated clearly that "before 2011, we should eliminate the phenomenon of excessive overtime in Nike contract factories." This also means that Nike has taken note of this long-standing problem.

Some employees failed to pay social insurance.

There are many versions of the social insurance policy.

"I haven't bought any social security, nor have anyone checked or forced to buy it." A female employee who worked in Wei Li for about a year admitted that the company would ask whether to buy insurance, but as long as he said he didn't buy it, he didn't need to sign any letter of responsibility.

"The general situation is that six months before the work is not required to buy social security, because this period of work is not stable. In case of resigning, the social security will not take away. And for six months, they want to buy social security. A deputy leader of a factory of Weili company told reporters that there was a slight lack of time to buy social security, because some employees really didn't want to buy it.

According to the labor law, whether it is voluntary or not, the company is not willing to buy insurance for its employees. Weili company has the obligation and obligation to force employees to buy social insurance such as work-related injuries and social security. As a global company, Nike has issued CSR reports every year in recent years, and should also actively improve and inspect employee benefits of partner Weili company. He Zonggui, lawyer of Guangdong law, said.

Nike social responsibility department said: "since 2008, every factory is gradually improving this situation, gradually buying social insurance for employees."

　 [depth analysis]

Low cost test Nike's social responsibility

"Purchasing price is getting lower and lower. If we want to ensure profits, we can only work hard from the cost of labor. Basic wages can not be changed, and we can only make corresponding adjustments in insurance and other welfare and performance pay." The human resource manager of the Nike generation factory revealed that the decline of employee benefits is the fault of our factory on the surface, actually the source is brand.

"Once the problem is discovered by the media, the first thing Nike does is to stop placing orders for factories, and it will never be held accountable for those who are responsible." The responsible person said, in order to continue to receive orders from Nike, many factories are compelled to make false accounts to deal with Nike's audit.

According to Wei Li hat workers, there are 500 people in his factory, which are divided into 6 groups. If they work overtime to 8 in the evening, the average daily output of a group is 1300~1500 hat, and the average wage of employees is 1200~1300 yuan. According to this calculation, the average daily wage of each employee is about 42 yuan, which is calculated by an average of 17 hats per person per day, and the cost of each hat is only 2.5 yuan.

98% of Nike's products come from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, and Nike employs nearly 800 thousand workers in 52 countries and regions. In 2008, Nike's annual operating income was $18 billion 627 million, and its gross profit margin reached 45%. And after the high gross profit rate, the purchasing price is getting lower and lower.

According to authoritative sources, the purchase price of Nike brand sports cap priced at 98 yuan on the market is usually 5 yuan or 6 yuan, "up to 1 dollars." With the increasing cost of raw materials and labor, Nike has not only increased procurement prices, but also lowered prices. "In the field of shoes and hats, China's suppliers have never had bargaining power. In the first half of this year, Nike even closed the only shoe factory in China because of the lower profit margins.

　　 Relevant link

Nike: the latest audit did not find Wei Li violation

In November 16th, the reporter went to Zhongshan Weili Textile Co., Ltd. to give a positive interview. For the fact that he did not buy social security for some employees and worked overtime seriously, Hu Jinbin, a management office of the company, refused to interview on the grounds that he had not received an interview notice from Nike and his regional propaganda department, and refused to answer the above questions.

Wei Li, a labor department under the jurisdiction of the Labor Department of Zhongshan, three, a person in charge of the labor and social security sub Bureau, refused to disclose any details. When the reporter takes Wei Li company When the staff member complained to the Zhongshan labor and social security sub Bureau on the above issues, a staff member at the reception office told reporters that Wei Li did not buy part of the insurance for employees and had worked overtime for more than 36 hours. The reporter suggested that the reporter fill in a "visiting schedule", and the labor and social security department will solve it within 30 working days.

In November 16th, Nike spokesman Zhu Jinqian pointed out that no such problems were found in the recent verification of Zhongshan Wei Li in September this year. This also seems to mean that Weili is still a qualified factory in Nike only in terms of employment.

In the social responsibility report released by Nike, Nike said, "we encourage the contract factories to have certain foresight for these situations, and actively solve the potential overtime problems with us. We can cooperate with the factories to rearrange the orders, allow for delayed delivery, or allow limited time, under strict supervision and reporting conditions, to allow the working hours to last for more than 240 hours. When the extra working hours are required, the factory management must obtain the prior permission of Nike to prove that the management has planned overtime work so as to minimize the number of workers. Influence "