Two die in explosion at Foxconn iPad plant | Crave
Remember those shiny Apple gadgets are made under highly questionable labour conditions.
Remember those shiny Apple gadgets are made under highly questionable labour conditions.
5 comments
1 | Velvet Elvis Fri, May 20, 2011 4:49:55pm |
The same goes for virtually all electronics manufactured in China. That's why we make them over there. Labor standards are too expensive here.
2 | Our Precious Bodily Fluids Fri, May 20, 2011 6:15:53pm |
re: #1 Conservative Moonbat
Foxconn in particular has drawn some attention to itself several times.
From 2006:
Foxconn denies sweatshop claims, Apple launches investigation
Foxconn's spokesman, Edmund Ding, insists that contrary to the Mail article, which claims some 200,000 workers live in Foxconn's Longhua facility, Foxconn has a worldwide workforce of only about 160,000 employees. He also states they abide by employment law in China which stipulates a minimum wage of around US$100 per month. Further, he says the company has been making improvements to workers' living conditions which include "safe and well-equipped dormitories complete with free laundry service, sports facilities, libraries, and other facilities."
Foxconn: We're only a little Dickensian
Now, Foxconn has admitted that they are breaking China's labor laws, but only a little bit. Foxconn employees are apparently working about 80 hours a month of overtime, while Chinese law limits overtime to 36 hours per month. It's not all bad news, though:
Li Zong, a spokesperson from Foxconn, says Foxconn's complicated salary structure has caused misunderstanding among the media, and the company has paid the workers according to the minimum salary standards of the Shenzhen local government.
From 2010:
Leaked report: worker abuse, violence continues at Foxconn
Electronic gadget manufacturer Foxconn is under fire—yes, again—for alleged worker abuse. The Chinese state-run Global Times claims to have information from an as-yet-unreleased report by Foxconn itself on the results of its worker investigation, which details safety issues, "violent training," and low wages.
Last month:
Three Foxconn workers arrested for leaking iPad 2 design
This isn't the first time Foxconn has acted to maintain the secrecy of Apple products. "Extreme pressure" to keep product details under wraps is believed to be part of the reason behind the July 2009 suicide of Foxconn worker Sun Danyong. Twenty-five-year-old Sun was responsible for shipping 16 iPhone 4 prototypes from the factory to Apple. After he discovered one of the prototypes went missing, he reported the problem to his superior at Foxconn only to find himself being accused of stealing the prototype.
Foxconn security staff raided Sun's apartment and reportedly questioned him under duress, both verbal and physical. "Even at a police station, the law says force must never be used, much less in a corporate office," Sun wrote after the incident. "I was just a suspect, my dear head of security, so what reason and right do you have to confine me and use force?"
Less than two days after the incident, Sun lept out of the window of his factory dormitory to his death. "Thinking that I won’t be bullied tomorrow, won’t have to be the scapegoat, I feel much better," Sun wrote to a friend shortly before committing suicide.
All in all, not quite the worker's paradise.
3 | Areozol Sat, May 21, 2011 12:00:18am |
And this is why I won't ever buy iPhone. Plus, Apple is establishing a monopoly on mobile devices. And it is not a good thing.
BTW: Apple has gone downhill in the area of personal computers and laptops. They are still overpriced, and they give just the same as other vendors products. The only shiny point is Mac OS X, but it is worth to spend that much of money...?
Want to go indy? Buy a cheap netbook/laptop without operating system, and install Ubuntu. Really.
[Link: www.techworld.com.au...]
4 | (I Stand By What I Said Whatever It Was) Sat, May 21, 2011 2:58:55am |
Just throwing this in there:
Apple causes ‘religious’ reaction in brains of fans, say neuroscientists
[Link: www.digitaltrends.com...]
5 | Aye Pod Sat, May 21, 2011 5:33:24am |
re: #2 negativ
Foxconn's spokesman, Edmund Ding, insists that contrary to the Mail article, which claims some 200,000 workers live in Foxconn's Longhua facility, Foxconn has a worldwide workforce of only about 160,000 employees. He also states they abide by employment law in China which stipulates a minimum wage of around US$100 per month. Further, he says the company has been making improvements to workers' living conditions which include "safe and well-equipped dormitories complete with free laundry service, sports facilities, libraries, and other facilities."
As the list of 'amenities' above suggests, Foxconn's factories in China are not sweat shops - they're more like prisons.
I worked (briefly) for the UK division of this company back in the nineties and they were without a doubt the worst employer I've ever had.