HARTFORD, Conn. -- A new report says a Chinese factory that makes light bulbs for General Electric Co. subjects many of its employees to 64-hour work weeks and many are exposed to mercury. Cleveland-based Policy Matters Ohio accuses Xiamen Topstar Lighting Co. Ltd. of violating China's labor laws and GE's own corporate policies. Xiamen Topstar is a joint venture between Topstar in China and Fairfield, Conn.-based GE. The plant in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in southern China makes energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs that contain mercury. The report says exhausted employees do not know they are working with a toxic substance, and it calls on GE to stop abusing workers and maintain a U.S. work force to make energy efficient products. Kim Freeman, a spokeswoman for GE Consumer & Industrial in Louisville, Ky., says the company cannot comment immediately because officials are reviewing the report.
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