Employment conditions in the toy industry
Working conditions in the factories pose significant risks, particularly with regard to pay and working hours.
The focus is on three main problems: excessively long working hours, a lack of employment contracts or contracts that are not honoured, and inadequate pay. Workers often do not receive the minimum wage, or can only reach it by working extreme amounts of overtime. In piecework, they are not paid by the hour but according to the number of toy parts produced. In Chinese toy factories, workers often work 12 to 13 hours a day. This overtime is not remunerated in accordance with legal requirements.