As part of our on-site factory monitoring process, Disney auditors meet and communicate with workers to understand their perspectives on their working conditions. Through that process, we continue to learn a great deal about factory conditions. However, for a variety of reasons, some workers may not feel completely comfortable sharing information in this setting. As a result, we have sought supplemental means to provide workers with a mechanism to raise their questions and concerns, obtain information on their rights and responsibilities and to pursue remedies, where warranted.

In southern China, we have worked with a local non-governmental organization (NGO) to help develop and implement a confidential worker helpline. The helpline is operated by the NGO and installed on a prototype basis in more than ten factories that produce Disney-branded products, with factory management agreement. The NGO visits each factory to provide basic information to workers on occupational health and safety, existing labor law and how to access the helpline via a free phone number. Subsequent to this helpline introduction, the NGO receives any calls, provides guidance and reports the issues - without identifying individuals - to Disney on a monthly basis. Where issues relate directly to the factory's ability to meet Disney's Code of Conduct for Manufacturers, we meet with the factory to review the information reported to the helpline, discuss potential causes and remedies and agree upon an improvement plan.

Preliminary evaluation of the helpline reveals:

• The helpline has provided workers with a source of information about their rights and responsibilities, enabling the NGO to direct workers to appropriate government bureaus and other public and private organizations for more assistance, including advice on personal health matters.
• In more than half of the calls, the issues and inquiries have related directly to matters involving labor law.

Our experience to date leads us to believe that the confidential worker helpline is a benefit both to workers and to our own ability to understand conditions in factories making Disney products. We expect to continue working with the helpline concept, using what we're learning from workers and factories to help strengthen our auditing process, training and education resources.