Routines exist in every jobs. But Chinese factories are doing their best to avoid us to get bored. There are actually lots of changes these last months in the methods used to hide information or workers. We will describe some of them.

The first sign of the current trend has been factories using consultant on these topics. They not only prepare fake documents as they used to do, but help factories to “pass” the audits. One of our auditors explains me lately he has spent time during an audit with the human resources' manager as usual. But this human resources' manager was actually not the human resources' manager, but a consultant helping the factory to pass the audit. All the information shown from his computer was actually not even from the factory, but were built almost from scratch. How did the auditor figure it out? The starting point was the computer. It was the only notebook of the company while all others have desktop. Human resources' manager are not usually required to travel much. Once suspicion started, the auditor has trailed the information (no business card which is almost impossible for a Chinese manager, a working place obviously blank, lack of knowledge of the history of the factory...) up to acknowledgment from the consultant.

Hiding process are then various. More and more factories are supposed to pay workers by cash while actually the trend is to disappearance of such practice. Most factories pay now by bank transfer Paying by cash is an acceptable reason for not showing bank transfer records that are difficult to fake and on which we can easily access to the actual amount paid. Another is the more ans more used swipe time card system with 2 cards for each worker: One with the normal working time, the second with the overtime. Thus only normal working time as shown, and these cards are not fake thus the risk of inconsistencies with other records is lower, and the little variation normally seen on any time records are natural which is difficult to do on fake records. A third practice is to hire some workers as temporary workers. It is usually not only the one needed temporarily, but also the ones difficult to manage or justify, as young workers. No documents are presented for these workers as it is explained that these workers are only temporary. The management of the temporary workers is usually seen as a smaller issue as these workers are supposed to be exceptional... By the way, the temporary workers are usually not seen on the audit day, as the factory “didn't” need them on this day.

This hiding process is actually an answer to a request which is more and more clearly stated. When we prove the provided document are fake and we ask access to genuine ones, we are more and more answered (it wasn't the case last year):”Are you sure you want actual documents? We are usually asked to provide the ones showing every thing is perfect.”

That shows the falsification is a system not only implemented by factories, but is existing on a much wider level. But that avoid any risk management approach and compromise the efforts done by factories that really try to improve. Consequences on workers and working conditions are obvious, as well as the bonus given to factories able to fake information properly.