Japan Press Weekly

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2015 January 14 - 20 [LABOR]

Human rights NGOs move Uniqlo to improve working conditions at China factories

Following a critical survey report from human rights NGOs, the Fast Retailing Group (FR), operator of the Uniqlo chain, on January 15 released a plan to improve poor working conditions in its subcontracted factories in China.

The report was compiled by the Tokyo-based NGO Human Rights Now, along with Hong Kong-based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) and Labor Action China (LAC).

The organizations between July and November 2014 conducted surveys of two factories in Guangdong Province, China. They found that factory workers are forced to work more than 110 hours overtime a month on average with low wages, and exposed to hazardous conditions, such as high humidity and chemical odors.

Representatives of the NGOs on January 15 held a press conference at the Labor Ministry office building in Tokyo. Ito Kazuko, secretary general of Human Rights Now, pointed out that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights requires corporations to work to prevent human right violations in their subsidiary factories.

The FR is notorious in Japan for its exploitative labor practices and its high turnover of employees.