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From CorpWatch:

More than 1,000 workers rioted over poor working conditions at a factory in southern China which produces toys for McDonald's and other firms, a US labor rights group said.

The incident began on Saturday last week when workers at the Hengli Factory in Guangdong province protested over meager wages, lack of public holidays and poor living conditions, the New York-based China Labor Watch said.

The protest in Dongguan city began in workers dorms and evolved into a riot that stretched into the night and Sunday, involving more than 1,000 of the factory's workers, the labor watchdog said in a statement.

It took more than 100 factory policemen, riot squads and security guards to control the situation. Many people were injured and dozens of workers were arrested, according to China Labor Watch.

An official at the Hong Kong-based Merton Co Ltd, which owns the factory, told Agence France-Presse there had been an incident but refused to comment on the specific allegations.

'It's not convenient for us to reveal any information,' said Yammie Chiu, a secretary at the company. 'This type of incident has never happened before.'

According to China Labor Watch's investigation, employees at the factory typically work 11 hours a day, six days a week, and rack up to 70 hours of overtime a month.

This violates China's labor law, which stipulates workers shall not work for more than 40 hours a week and 35 hours of overtime a month, it said.

The factory deducts salary if workers refuse to work overtime and does not pay workers for taking national holidays, vacation or sick leave, according to the group.

Overtime is not paid 1.5 times the regular rate as required by the law, it said. There is no base salary for workers, who are paid at piece rate.

Salaries range between 600 and 800 yuan (75 and 100 usd) a month.

But workers told China Labor Watch's investigator that they must pay 250 yuan for food and accommodation, and complained of the factory's meals being of poor quality.

Merton also failed to provide workers with adequate medical insurance or pensions, according to the rights group.

According to the interviewed workers, 50 percent of Mertons products were manufactured for McDonalds.

According to Merton's website, the factory has 10,000 employees producing plastic toys. The company exports to the US and Canada to companies such as McDonald's, Disney, Mattel, Warner and DC Comics, the website said.

Carol Chan, a senior consultant for McDonald's public relations company Hill and Knowlton, told AFP the fast food giant did not have an immediate response because its Hong Kong office had to check with its global headquarters.

However she confirmed Merton did supply products to McDonald's and that the matter is being looked at.

'The factory makes toys for McDonald's restaurants not just in Hong Kong but also in other countries ... McDonald's is looking into this matter,' Chan said.

Local police and the industrial park where the factory is located denied knowledge of the incident.

From RFA:

7月22号，在广东省东莞市亨利玩具厂，发生了一场由一千多名工人参加的抗议活动。工人们抗议的原因是工厂的工作和生活条件极差以及工资极低。下面是自由亚洲电台记者希望的采访报道。

致力于中国劳工权益的组织《中国劳工观察》日前发布消息说，广东省东莞市亨利玩具厂的工人抗议活动，首先于7月22号在工人的宿舍开始，随后很快发展成大规模抗议活动。夜间，工厂警察派出抗暴小队控制情形，许多工人受伤。到了第二天，更多的人开始加入抗议活动，最终抗议人数达到一千人以上。该工厂总共雇用一万名工人。记者打电话到东莞市亨利玩具厂打听工人抗议事件，得到了这样的回答：（录音）

记者还打电话到东莞市警察局，值班的警察说： （录音）

根据《中国劳工观察》的调查，亨利玩具厂的工人一般每天劳作11个小时，每周劳作6天。虽然根据中国的劳工法，工人每周的工作时间不应该超过40小时，每月的超时工作时间不应该超过36小时，但是，在亨利玩具厂，工人每月的超时劳作时间可高达70小时。如果工人拒绝超时劳作，他们的工资会被削减。此外，亨利玩具厂的工人享受不到节假日和病假。

亨利玩具厂工人每月的基本工资只有574元人民币，但工人们每月必须为住宿和伙食交纳250元人民币。而且，亨利玩具厂从来都不为工人的超时劳作发补偿工资。工人每月能带回家的工资只有600到800元人民币。最后，亨利玩具厂也不为工人提供任何医疗保险或退休金，而只有一半工人享有工伤保险.《中国劳工观察》执行主任李强先生，向记者介绍了他们所调查到的有关情况：（录音）

亨利玩具厂为麦当劳快餐店，迪斯尼游乐园，玛特尔玩具公司等大型跨国公司制造塑料玩具。记者打电话到亨利玩具公司在香港的总部但没有人接电话。