'' Thirty-one dirty and disorientated workers have been rescued from a brickwork factory in China, where they were being held as virtual slaves. Eight workers were so traumatised by their experiences that they were only able to remember their names.
The labourers had to work unpaid for 20 hours at a time, and were only given bread and water in return.
The brickworks, in the poor inland province of Shanxi, is owned by the son of the local Communist Party secretary.
One man was even reported to have been beaten to death with a hammer, because he did not work fast enough.
The workers were only given bread and water When police raided the brickworks they discovered foul-smelling workers who had been wearing the same clothes for a year.
They had no facilities to wash, and they had not had their hair cut or brushed their teeth.
"The grime on their bodies was so thick it could be scraped off with a knife," the Beijing News said.
Local people said the brickworks, near Linfen, would have been closed down a long time ago had it not been for the protection of the party secretary.
China has tens of millions of migrant workers.
They leave their rural homes in search of work, but often have to endure harsh conditions, bad treatment and low pay. ''
Pls CPI (M) leaders be sent to these factories to so that they can start trade unions.
