CHINESE authorities are coming under pressure to address superexploitation in the e-commerce and delivery sectors after the death of a worker exposed a culture of forced overtime.
A woman employed by Pinduoduo, a “platform” that links producers with buyers that had over 730 million active users last year, collapsed on her way home from work on December 29 and died in hospital.
Shanghai’s Labour Protection Department is now investigating “working hours and employment contracts” at the company while state news agency Xinhua published an account from a former employee who said he had worked 12 to 13-hour days, six days a week for the firm before being sacked for posting a photo of a colleague being taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Former Huawei employee speaks out on Shenzhen s 996 culture as Chinese city enforces paid leave - 02-Jan-2021 nzcity.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzcity.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Former Huawei employee speaks out on Shenzhen s 996 culture as Chinese city enforces paid leave
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Zeng Meng says Huawei employees were asked to sign a contract stating they accept working overtime voluntarily.
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For five years, former Huawei employee Zeng Meng embraced China s infamous 996 culture of working from 9:00am to 9:00pm, six days a week.
Key points:
Shenzhen becomes the first Chinese city to mandate that workers in special industries take paid leave
Those industries will now also be required to pay overtime or give extra annual leave days
But experts fear the new policy may not change the overwork culture in the tech hub