Rights Group Accuses US Automaker of Worker Abuse in China

Topics:  Ford Motor Company

VOA Breaking News
Voice of America
March 4, 2011 at 5:30 pm

A human rights group for workers is accusing U.S. automaker Ford Motor of allowing one of its contractors in China to abuse workers and pay them 80 cents an hour.

The U.S.-based group, the Institute for Global Labor & Human Rights, said one worker at the Yuwei Plastics and Hardware Products company in Dongguan lost three fingers in a 2009 accident after the factory’s management turned off safety equipment. The group said the injured worker was paid $7,430 for his injury. It asked Ford to pay him an additional $72,000, about half of what it said a U.S. worker would be paid for a similar workplace injury.

The group said in a report that Yuwei employees are forced to work 14-hour shifts, seven days a week, at the low pay rate. It said workers at the factory reported that 80 percent of their production is for Ford.

Ford, the world’s fourth largest automaker, said it takes “these allegations seriously” and is investigating. The company said it has a “strong commitment” to human rights and workplace safety.