Kids in Chinese sweatshops

To Western children, Disney is a fairytale world of talking mice, princesses and dragons.
To Chinese children it sometimes means working from 8am to 10pm, handling chemicals without protection, being chastised for failing to hit production targets and eating food laden with cockroaches.
Staff at two factories making Disney toys employed children between the ages of 14 and 16 according to a report by China Labour Watch (CLW).
The children worked 12-hour days in "unacceptable conditions", the 25-page document says.
CLW said it launched the undercover investigation because problems had been found at factories producing Disney-branded goods in the past. Last year, CLW found breaches of working hours, wage and contract laws at a factory in Guangdong producing Disney gifts after a 17-year-old worker, Liu Pan, was crushed to death in machinery.
In a report, CLW claimed the factory was hiring workers as young as 13.
CLW randomly selected two plants making Disney-branded merchandise, sent in undercover investigators and interviewed staff.
According to the report, working hours were excessively long: two four-hour stints daily between Monday and Saturday were typically followed by another four hours of compulsory overtime in the evenings, adding up to 76 hours a week. The children sometimes worked seven days in a row.
Workers were supplied with gloves for handling hazardous chemicals but allegedly did not wear them because it made their work rate too slow. As a result, some of them had developed skin rashes, while for some layers of skin were "falling off".
Staff complained they found it difficult to resign, and could only do so at set times, leaving with less pay than they were owed. There were "harsh and unreasonable" discipline practices, and dormitories - housing typically 12 workers each - were said to be dirty and smelly.
Daily food at one of the factories consisted of two vegetable dishes and one meat meal. The report said: "In all of the meat dishes, one can only see two small pieces of meat or fish. Regardless of what kind of food or oil it is cooked in, workers often detect food additives, hair or cockroaches."
Although members of staff were allowed to join a trade union, they were not aware it existed and were not members. There was no safety training, no fire drills and "fire hazards existed", the report said. After deductions for accommodation, meals and drinking water, one factory paid 1100 yuan ($210 a month).
CLW said: "The investigations showed the old problems with Disney remain: child labourers are still hired in factories, and labour conditions are still unacceptable."
A Disney spokeswoman said: "Clearly the conditions outlined in this report are a breach of our labour standards and are unacceptable. We have started to investigate."
"For the most part we don't have direct relationships with the factories. The factories undertake multiple relationships with our licensees. We work very hard to ensure that factories are monitored on a regular basis."
Asked if Disney was doing enough, she said: "We have a long-standing commitment to the safety and well-being of our workers.
"To imply that we do not address that is untrue."