Exclusive | Bribes, fake factories and forged documents: the buccaneering consultants pervading China’s factory audits

Dotted around China’s industrial heartland, well-connected consultants are helping factory owners flout labour laws to churn out goods that end up on the shelves of well-known Western stores.

Brimming with guanxi – the Chinese term for the strong personal connections that can prise open business deals – this army of advisers openly brag about their ability to guide nearly any factory through inspections designed to ensure that goods are made safely and that workers are paid correctly, a South China Morning Post investigation can reveal.

“As long as you cooperate, keep the troublemakers out of the factory on inspection day, and make sure workers follow our guidance on answering questions, we will guarantee you pass,” a consultant in Shanghai said after the Post posed as a factory owner looking to sell goods to European buyers.

They offer a range of services, from basic coaching of workers on how to answer auditors’ questions, to the provision of additional record books – such as a modified set for auditors claiming that all workers are paid in full, on time, and for any overtime worked – often a different story to the reality inside the factory.

Some say they can use their network of contacts to arrange for a particularly friendly auditor to inspect, at a time of the factory owner’s choosing, to ensure that the facility is well-prepared.

Others have software that can conjure up documents for a full team of seemingly legitimate factory workers and records in 90 seconds, including in cases where the actual workers are not of age or do not have the proper documentation, or where time sheets may not be kept, or may be in conflict with China’s labour laws.