Under Chinese law, only 10 percent of a company’s staff is supposed to be temporary workers. But Zhang says regulations are often not rigorously enforced. He noted that companies can also get around the limit by hiring classified workers under different outsourcing schemes that operate largely in the same way, a strategy that job ads indicate Shein is using.
A Shein spokesperson confirmed to WIRED that the company “works with third-party vendors to staff the vast majority of our warehouse operations,” but declined to specify what percentage of workers are classified as dispatched labor. “Shein’s practices are aligned with industry standards and comply with local laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Because many of Shein’s warehouse employees are classified as self-employed, they are not guaranteed a fixed hourly wage, like Uber drivers and food delivery workers. Job postings and several videos reviewed by WIRED indicate that while workers are promised a monthly base salary, their total compensation is calculated based on their productivity levels, a system that boils down to “more work.” , more salary.”
This structure gives workers the option to work toward higher incomes. But when Shein’s order volume decreases, their salaries can also go down through no fault of their own, according to one of the videos. In a clip posted on the ByteDance-owned platform Xigua in January, an alleged Shein worker complains that she can’t earn enough money because “the amount of goods is not enough.” He adds that he imagined having a more stable salary at this point in his life.
“Shein is committed to ensuring the fair and dignified treatment of all workers within our supply chain and is investing tens of millions of dollars to strengthen governance and compliance,” the Shein spokesperson said.
Shein told WIRED that based on its suppliers’ records, the company estimates that junior warehouse staff receive approximately 7,000 RMB ($997) per month, while senior workers can earn more than 12,000 RMB ($1,709) on average. The current minimum monthly wage for full-time employees in Guangzhou, a major Chinese city near where many of Shein’s warehouses are located, is RMB 2,300 ($327). according according to China Briefing, a website run by consulting firm Dezan Shira & Associates (this figure excludes overtime pay and other forms of compensation).
Shein’s use of labor dispatch workers has been covered previously. In 2021, Chinese news outlet Sixth Tone reported that Shein supposedly “appears to rely heavily” on fulfillment agencies at its warehouses, which the article says “are associated with a number of labor issues.”
But Shein has never mentioned the practice in its annual sustainability and social impact reports, which detail the company’s efforts to ensure its suppliers comply with local regulations and its code of conduct. in your latest report Published in August, Shein revealed that it hired outside companies to audit 15 of its 21 logistics warehouses in China last year and found that “all… performed well.”
