The most common problem I face in my job has to do with records being falsified to cover up excess overtime and improper payment of wages. This issue comes up in almost every new factory because they think that brands will be happy with a piece of paper with the right figures on it. They believe that brands don’t care about actual conditions. Sadly, this is the case with some brands, but not with Reebok, who takes this issue very seriously. I use my financial skills to crosscheck documents and also use worker interviews to identify false records. Sometimes management have even more experience of human rights audits than our field staff. They will falsify broken needle, production and warehouse records so that they are completely consistent with payroll and timecards. They also coach workers to give a positive impression to our monitors.

Factories are never perfect and when the audit results are too good to be true, I become suspicious. Night surveillance is the only way to get the proof I need in these situations. That means renting a car and parking where I can see if the factory lights are on or whether workers are coming in and out and punching timecards. I even pretend to be someone looking for work when I chat to workers and shopkeepers.

I make it difficult for management to get away with falsifying records by encouraging workers to contact me by phone or text message. Even when management pays workers to keep quiet, I still get messages and phone calls. They want the money, but they also want to tell the truth. Reebok is the only brand that I know of that posts monitors’ numbers on the walls of factories. I even get messages from workers in other factories who have been given my details by workers from our supplier facilities. Sometimes I feel like a support helpline for the whole industry. Of course we can’t investigate the problem for these people, but I do give them advice on who else they can turn to.

I want to make a difference. It feels really good when I am able to show management the benefits of changing their working practices. When they come back to me and are genuinely happy about the changes they have made, it is so satisfying. When workers are paid the wages they are owed because of my work, it feels amazing. I often get text messages from workers thanking me for what I have done. I love my job, but it can be very frustrating, especially when there is nothing I can do. For example, even when I have helped reduce working hours in a factory once, the problem occurs again because of the pressure of the industry.

Despite many challenges, I am optimistic about the future. China is growing up and conditions are getting better as the industry matures. Brands are doing more about human rights and there is even some support from the Chinese government. Also, the new generation of workers were part of China’s one-child policy. This means that they have more money and more aspirations. Because they don’t have a huge family to support, they are less willing to work long hours in poor conditions. Factories will have to improve conditions or they won’t be able to get the workers they need. This trend has emerged in the last two years in the Shanghai district and is spreading to the rest of the country.

At the moment, Reebok is a pioneer in human rights. I hope other brands will come on board so that I am not always seen as the bad guy with factory management. If more brands collaborated on this we could really make a difference to the lives of workers.