The labor authority in Bantian, Longgang District has stepped in to investigate the death of a worker whose family claim she was overworked.
Xu Mengdie, 20, a native of Hubei, worked at Shenzhen Guangxun Lishen Technology Co. She fell ill and died at hospital Thursday.
According to her boyfriend, identified as Fan, Xu had often complained of dizziness and shortness of breath since starting work at the factory, a mobile phone battery manufacturer, one month ago.
Fan claimed that the factory manager had denied Xu leave to see a doctor, and that workers were required to work until at least 10 p.m. every day, the Daily Sunshine reported Friday.
"She was responsible for packaging lithium batteries and felt stomach pain, shortness of breath and dizziness the week before her death," Fan said.
"Xu worked until 10 p.m. Wednesday and took a rest at home Thursday because she really couldn't work. But she later suffered breathing difficulties and lost consciousness. She later died at hospital. The factory should be responsible for this," said Fan.
A report from Xuexiang Hospital showed Xu suffered a sudden death, but the exact cause could not be confirmed until autopsy.
One factory worker, Zhao Caiping, told the Daily that the air quality inside the factory was poor because of inadequate ventilation.
The factory refused to comment and its manager was unreachable, according to the report.
The assistant manager, who refused to be named, claimed Xu's death was not related to her work.
Chen Bin, head of the labor station of Bantian Subdistrict Government Office, said the station had sent a team to assess air quality at the factory. The labor authority had contacted the factory management and was coordinating the dispute.
Founded in April 2008, the factory produces 9 million mobile phone batteries a year, according to its Web site. It employs 300 workers.
(Han Ximin)
