Working Conditions and Factory Auditing in the Chinese Toy Industry

This hearing will examine allegations regarding working conditions at four Chinese toy manufacturers, what the toy industry is doing to audit factories in China and address reports of poor working conditions, and the effectiveness of private-sector auditing and business codes of conduct in China.

Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman and Representative
Christopher Smith, Cochairman
announce a hearing on

Working Conditions and Factory Auditing in the Chinese Toy Industry

The vast majority of toys bought and sold in the United States are made in China. In November, the labor rights NGO, China Labor Watch, issued a report alleging poor working conditions at four Chinese factories that manufacture toys for several major toy companies and retailers.  This hearing will examine these allegations, what the toy industry is doing to audit factories in China and address reports of poor working conditions, and the effectiveness of private-sector auditing and business codes of conduct in China.

Witnesses:
Li Qiang, Executive Director and Founder, China Labor Watch
Harriet Mouchly-Weiss, Secretariat of ICTI CARE Foundation, Founder and Managing Partner of Strategy XXI Partners
Earl Brown, Labor and Employment Law Counsel and China Program Director, Solidarity Center, AFL-CIO
Brian Campbell, Director of Policy and Legal Programs, International Labor Rights Forum

This hearing will be webcast live here.

RSVP required for non-congressional staff.  Email RVSP to deidre.jackson@mail.house.gov

Click here to download a copy of the Commission's full 2014 Annual Report.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, established by the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 as China prepared to enter the World Trade Organization, is mandated by law to monitor human rights, including worker rights, and the development of the rule of law in China. The Commission by mandate also maintains a database of information on political prisoners in China-individuals who have been imprisoned by the Chinese government for exercising their civil and political rights under China's Constitution and laws or under China's international human rights obligations. All of the Commission's reporting and its Political Prisoner Database are available to the public online via the Commission's Web site, http://www.cecc.gov.