Workers of Uniqlo's Contracting Manufacturer in China are on Strike Again

A Chinese contracting manufacturer of the well-known Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo has been shut down without warning and workers are on strike.

The manufacturer, Shenzhen Artigas Clothing and Leather, transferred the labor contracts of all workers without permission to Lever Style Inc., the parent company of Artigas. The employees accuse the company of violating the Law on Employment Contracts and hope to conduct a collective negotiation with the factory.

Liberty Times reports, Lever Style Inc. emphasizes it is offering legal social insurance and overtime pay. The company does not plan to dismiss any employee, and shutting down the factory is only to move the manufacturing plant to another district.

The National Federation of Independent Trade Unions says Artigas never allocated insurance for its workers. The announcement of setting up a new factory is absurd because management never informed anyone and moved the equipment in secret. Moreover, the new factory is already in operation and has no more vacancies for new workers.

On the morning of July 17 in Taipei, around 20 protesters from the National Federation of Independent Trade Union, Taipei Confederation of Trade Unions and other organizations protested at the Uniqlo Taipei Ming Yao flagship store to back up the strike initiated by Artigas laborers.

This is not the first time Uniqlo has been accused of labor exploitation. So far over 70 groups from around the world have countersigned in request of Uniqlo to implement its commitment of social responsibility. They also call on the clothing company to stop producing affordable products built on exploitation.

Translated by June
Edited by Olivia Yang

Sources:
Coolloud.org.tw
WKnews
Liberty Times