Is the cross you hang around your neck worth more than 11 cents an hour?

A report released in late November 2007 by the US National Labor Committee (NLC), Today Workers Bear the Cross, exposed a member of the Association for Christian Retail (ACR) for selling crosses manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop.

Many would be aware of issues relating to freedom of religion in China. Similar problems exist in the areas of respect for basic labour rights and freedom of association (the freedom of individuals to freely associate as an end in itself or with a view to pursuing common projects, e.g. through churches, political parties, sporting clubs – in this context particularly trade unions).

The NLC report found that crucifixes are being made at the Junxingye Factory in Dongguan, China, under the following conditions:

• all overtime in the factory is mandatory and anyone who does not carry out the required overtime loses a full day’s wages;
• anyone who gets sick and misses work in the factory loses two-and-a-half days pay for each day they miss;
• employees forced to work regular 14 to 15.5 hour shifts a day, seven days a week;
• the factory employed 300 — 400 women as young as 15;
• it is common for workers in the factory to work over 100 hours a week, which includes 51 hours of overtime;
• the workers get no paid sick leave, no paid maternity leave, no paid holidays and no health insurance, all of which are required under Chinese labour laws;
• when an order is due a shift can be extended up to 25 hours;
• workers fear they may be handling toxic chemicals, paints and solvents, the fumes sting their eyes and skin contact causes rashes, but the factory management refuses to provide even the names of the chemicals, let alone their potential health hazards;
• workers in the factory are housed in primitive dorm rooms sleeping on narrow double-level metal bunk beds that line the walls (there is no other furniture); and,
• workers in the factory are paid as little as 30 cents an hour, just over half the legal minimum wage in China (after fees deducted for room and board, the workers pay can drop to just 11 cents an hour).

The report states that the Association for Christian Retail (ACR) has no code of conduct and no factory monitoring program. The kinds of practices outlined above in the NLC report are entirely inconsistent with Christian faith.

Brief analysis of Australian Christian retailers and wholesalers leads to the conclusion that there is a lack of attention to this issue.

We at the Justice & International Mission Unit have contacted the Christian Bookselling Association Australia. Already the Central Catholic Bookstore and UniChurch bookstores in Melbourne want to work with us to make a difference. We are working with the Justice Unit of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne on this project, and have the support of the Victorian Council of Churches Social Questions Commission.

We have also drafted a set of Standards that we think that businesses and communities involved in the trade of Christian related items should adhere to.

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