Olympic mascot maker rejects sweatshop claims_美文

Olympic mascot maker rejects sweatshop claims

The Yancheng factory is also an authorized manufacturer for the mascots of Disney and the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

John Hales, chairman of Golden Bear, the company that owns the license to produce the official mascots for the London Olympics and Paralympics, also confirmed in a statement that the factory has passed inspections.

"Founded in 1997, our factory has a long history in producing mascots with high quality, and our 72 workers have a neat working environment and relatively good salaries," Gu said.

The monthly salary of an employee who is not absent from work is about 2,000 yuan, Gu said.

Xia Senlin, a 30-year-old woman who has worked for Rainbow since September 2008, said that her salary was 2,158 yuan in November 2011. She worked 26 days that month.

Workers in the factory make 5.16-5.94 yuan for every Wenlock and Mandeville doll produced, Gu said. "The Sun's report that workers only get 18 pence per item is untrue."

However, he admitted that the factory does not interfere if some unskilled workers choose to work overtime to finish their workload.

"It is untrue to label our factory a sweatshop, and we can stand up to scrutiny," Gu said.

A 2012 London Olympic Games spokesman said that an independent monitor has been asked to carry out a comprehensive investigation and review the allegations of a breach of workers' rights.