Chinese factory workers are labouring in prison-like conditions for 41 cents an hour to make computer parts for IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Dell, a report has claimed. The US National Labour Committee found that 2,000 workers at the Meitai factory work an average of 74 hours a week for a base wage of 64 cents an hour. This drops to 41 cents an hour if room and board are not taken into account. The workers, mostly young women aged from 18 to their mid-208, are not allowed to talk, listen to music, look around, put their hands in their pockets, or go to the toilet unless it is an official break. Workers are encouraged to monitor each other and are fined if they break the rules. These include being one minute late for a shift or putting personal items on a work desk.
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