BRUTAL conditions/suicides at Foxconn

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Quote:

The Shocking Conditions Inside China's Brutal Foxconn Factory



The Foxconn suicide mess all started from job stress. Within half a year, there were 9 suicide attempts, with 7 confirmed deaths in Foxconn?s factory in Shenzhen, China...



Every single one of the workers is living through life like a clock. They work, they get off, they go to sleep. And the next day, they repeat the same thing again. The reporter thinks that the only way to stop this cycle is for them to end their lives.



If you are wondering if they are happy for producing Apple products, the answer is No. They are only happy on the 10th of every month, that?s the day when they get their salaries. On the 10th, the ATM machines are fully crowded with workers and their salaries start from $900 Chinese Yuan (about $130).





http://www.businessinsider.com/the-s...factory-2010-5

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    stevegmustevegmu Posts: 539member


    They work in factories. Of course they are going to stand for 8 hours a day. I'm surprised they only work 8 hour shifts. Sounds like an American factory.

    Is that a lot of suicides for a factory of that size?
  • Reply 2 of 5
    spotonspoton Posts: 645member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevegmu View Post


    They work in factories. Of course they are going to stand for 8 hours a day. I'm surprised they only work 8 hour shifts. Sounds like an American factory.

    Is that a lot of suicides for a factory of that size?







    8 hours with no breaks is the question, cause why would a worker admit dropping items to get a chance to sit/squat etc?



    Then there is another bit of information, is those "days" every day? Meaning 8 hours everyday except holidays? No weekends off?



    But one thing is obvious, no American or European worker can compete with the Chinese worker who earns 56 cents a hour. Especially the U.A.W workers who are getting whopping $75 a hour. Even U.S. minimum wage is high by Chinese standards.



    Our respective economies are certainly in trouble the longer the Chinese currency is matched to the U.S. Dollar.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevegmu View Post


    They work in factories. Of course they are going to stand for 8 hours a day. I'm surprised they only work 8 hour shifts. Sounds like an American factory.

    Is that a lot of suicides for a factory of that size?



    As usual, it seems like the reporting is overcooked to get some interest. You can tell from the dramatic language used in the story. It was found that the suicide rate in Foxconn was lower than the national average. Not that it trivializes it of course but the reality is that many people in the world are subjected to poor working and/or living conditions. Pretty much every neighbourhood will have some run down poverty-stricken area where it's so depressing to live that people consider killing themselves.



    If they upped the salaries so the workers wouldn't have to volunteer to do longer than an 8 hour shift, it wouldn't be such a huge problem. When their work is valued so low and they have to work so much to earn so little then it's no wonder they'd start to feel like a useless cog in a machine. Nobody deserves to be treated that way and as I say, Foxconn is not unique by any stretch of the imagination:



    http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/11/s...ft-dell-odm-f/
  • Reply 4 of 5
    China has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. FWIW.



    Also, these "Chinese sweatshops" seem to be unfairly tagged to Apple alone. Because, you know, Microsoft, Dell, Sony and all the rest don't have their products manufactured in the exact same (or similar) facilities.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    stevegmustevegmu Posts: 539member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpotOn View Post


    8 hours with no breaks is the question, cause why would a worker admit dropping items to get a chance to sit/squat etc?



    Then there is another bit of information, is those "days" every day? Meaning 8 hours everyday except holidays? No weekends off?



    But one thing is obvious, no American or European worker can compete with the Chinese worker who earns 56 cents a hour. Especially the U.A.W workers who are getting whopping $75 a hour. Even U.S. minimum wage is high by Chinese standards.



    Our respective economies are certainly in trouble the longer the Chinese currency is matched to the U.S. Dollar.



    Are these labor camps, or are the workers there on their own volition?

    The workers can compete, if they agree to a fair wage, rather than one inflated by unions.
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