…China Labor Watch received a complaint…saying that a worker passed away because of a heart attack whilst working at Dongguan Chengming Electronic Company Ltd…The worker who wrote the email suspected that the victim had died of excessive overtime work…CLW decided to send an investigator to Chengming to conduct an undercover investigation.

Whilst working at Chengming, our investigator found severe violations in work hours, occupational safety, and other aspects. In some occasions, workers are forced to work overtime, putting in overtime hours adding up to 165 hours a month, and only have one day off in three months. Some workers feel exhausted and want to have some rest, however during peak production season, such requests are usually not approved. Upon finishing the investigation, we sent information with regards to the various violations at the factory to Chengming’s clients, including IBM, HP, Acer, ASUS, Intel, HTC, Fujitsu, Huawei…

Among the responses we received from these companies, some claimed they already ceased business relations with Chengming, some quoted Chengming’s response and denied almost all charges, and others had promised to conduct an investigation or third part audit, however, rarely made improvements to working conditions. At first, ASUS replied that it had been three years since their last cooperation with Chengming. However, we then sent them photos of workers producing ASUS products. ASUS promised to undergo a follow-up investigation, but till now, we have yet to receive any response. Fujitsu replied that it would begin improving working conditions, but still we haven’t seen any progress.