Mickey Mouse's Sweat Shops? Hmmm...

Buzzflash points us to this impropriety in the House of da Mouse (Disney) who happens to own ABC:

Guangdong factories producing merchandise for Walt Disney are still ill- treating their workers by underpaying them and making them overwork, according to a concern group.

A report released Sunday by the Hong Kong-based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, or SACOM, accused three factories in the province of gross violation of mainland labor laws and called for immediate action to halt the malpractices.

It said the workers, besides being underpaid and forced to work overtime, were also not offered occupational insurance.

The group made the findings after interviewing 50 workers from three factories in Shenzhen and Zhuhai in July and August - the second time it has investigated working conditions in factories producing Disney merchandise.

Last year it found workers at four other factories in Dongguan, Shenzhen and Zhongshan being exploited by their bosses.

The latest claims drew a curt response from Walt Disney's corporate communications director, Alannah Goss, who said the company took the allegations very seriously and would investigate thoroughly.

"Our first priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of employees," said Goss, adding Disney has a strong international labor code of conduct for manufacturers, and carries out regular social compliance audits on independently run factories.

However, SACOM spokeswoman Vivien Yau Tze-wei said their new report proved that Disney's regular audits were "useless."

Yau said: "Workers are offered 70 yuan [HK$68.60] as a reward by the factories if they help them cover up the truth when asked by auditors.

"We have also followed up on the four factories whose workers we interviewed last year, but none of them had made any improvement in treating their employees."

Disney had said a year ago it would "take these claims very seriously" and would investigate them diligently after SACOM released its findings on the four factories.

Pluto as a ball busting Union buster? Minnie played by Condo-lies-a-lot Rice? Who knows.