Chinese Draft Sweatshop Law

A southern Chinese province that is home to thousands of sweatshop factories is drafting a law that would limit work hours and set job safety standards, an official newspaper said Sunday.

The worker protection law being drafted in Guangdong province, which adjoins Hong Kong, will limit the workday to eight hours and require workplaces to be safe and sanitary, the China Daily Business Weekly said.

Factories that have dormitory housing for workers from the countryside must provide at least around seven square feet of living space per worker, the paper said.

Many of the factories employ young people from poor villages who are willing to work for extremely low wages. In many cases the workers are being forced to put in 12- to 14-hour days and face harsh discipline.