Labor group: Microsoft uses teen workers to make mice in China
The National Labor Committee, a non-profit group based out of Pittsburgh, has accused Microsoft of contracting with a sweatshop that employs teenage workers in China. The committee released a report yesterday that has been in the works for the last six months, though the NLC says teenagers have been working for Microsoft in this capacity since 2007. The report says the factory in Dongguan, China, employs about 1,000 16- and 17- year olds every summer, who live in dormitories and work for 65 cents an hour (52 cents after the cost of meals have been subtracted). The report further claimed that the teens work 12 hour days regularly, sometimes over 80 hours in a week. The assembly line works at a quick pace, and talking is not allowed. Permission to use the bathroom is required, and the workers are only allowed to leave the dorms at specific hours. At this time, Microsoft has made no comment on the report.
See "Labor group: Microsoft uses teen workers to make mice in China", Sharon Chan, The Seattle Times, April 13, 2010