Foxconn Employee Describes Working Conditions
Apple and Foxconn have both been on the hot seat over reports of the supplier’s poor factory conditions. But a CNN interview with one of the factory workers brings a personal story to the controversy.
Working at a Foxconn factory in southwestern China, an 18-year-old student named Miss Chen (her name has been changed to protect her identity) told CNN about the conditions she faces each day.
Working conditions in China are bad, obviously. One extremely important point that is somewhat buried in this article (emphasis-mine):
Thought of primarily as an Apple supplier, Foxconn also builds products for Dell, HP, Microsoft, and other U.S. tech companies. Owned by Hon Hai Industries, the supplier has long been in the news over reportedly poor and restrictive factory conditions.
Foxconn has been treating workers this way for a long time. I seriously doubt that they only treat people working on Apple products badly. The media seems to think that the only way to make these stories interesting is to try and tie the entire mess around Apple’s neck. Why don’t any of these stories take Dell, HP, Microsoft or any of the other tech companies that have their products made in China to task? Or, for that matter, why not mention Walmart, Target or any of the other major stores that have literally millions of Chinese-made products lining their shelves? As a result of singling out Apple, I’ve actually had people make jokes about my sweatshop produced iPhone, while they sit there wearing sweatshop produced clothing, holding their sweatshop produced smartphone from another manufacturer. The hypocrisy, it hurts!
One more rather important point in the article:
Apple CEO Tim Cook also recently stressed his company’s efforts to monitor the situation. In a letter to employees, Cook explained how Apple tries to inspect the factories, audit how the workers are treated, and educate the employees about their rights.
And some experts believe Foxconn’s conditions are actually better than those found in other factories in China, according to CNN.
Hmm. Imagine that.
