Samsung socked with $108M Brazilian suit over alleged labor issues
Brazilian prosecutors have begun legal action against technology giant and Apple rival Samsung, claiming that the South Korean conglomerate's Brazilian arm violated numerous labor laws at a factory in the Amazon region.
Prosecutors in the city of Manaus allege that working conditions at Samsung's factory there are notoriously poor, citing long hours, strict productivity standards, and sometimes unsafe conditions. The prosecutors office is suing for 250 million reais ($108 million) in damages, claiming serious labor violations.
The plant in question ? located in the Manaus Free Trade zone ? produces Samsung electronics for sale across Latin America, according to Reporter Brasil. It employs some 6,000 workers, and employees say some shifts can last up to 15 hours, with 10-hour days of standing not uncommon. Workers complained of physical aches stemming from the long hours and work conditions.
One worker said that he assembled nearly 3,000 phones per day for the South Korean giant's Brazilian arm. Other workers reported having only 32 seconds to fully assemble a mobile phone and 65 seconds to fully assemble a television set. Some employees were said to work up to 27 days in a row.
Manaus is located in the eastern portion of Amazonas, Brazil's largest state. The city has undergone massive growth in both population and economic health over the years, and it is now home to more than 1.8 million people. A number of major multinational technology firms, such as Samsung, LG, and Phillips, have made a presence there.
The manufacture of smartphones and electronics, like many consumer items, has become the target of criticism, as the workers that assemble those devices many times do not enjoy living standards comparable to those of the people that buy them. Like its chief rival, Apple, Samsung has in the past had to deal with assorted labor violations among its many suppliers' factories. The Manaus facility, though, is said to be run by Samsung, not a supplier as in the case with Apple.
As its products have grown more popular, Apple has endeavored to improve labor conditions for the people working in its own worldwide network of suppliers. The Cupertino company, under some pressure from observers, has called for shorter work hours and better overall conditions for its suppliers' employees, going so far as to terminate contracts when suppliers violate the company's labor standards.
Samsung, in a statement, said that it would take a look at the allegations and cooperate fully with Brazilian authorities.
"We are committed to offering our collaborators around the world a work environment that ensures the highest standards when it comes to safety, health and well-being," the statement said.
Prosecutors in the city of Manaus allege that working conditions at Samsung's factory there are notoriously poor, citing long hours, strict productivity standards, and sometimes unsafe conditions. The prosecutors office is suing for 250 million reais ($108 million) in damages, claiming serious labor violations.
The plant in question ? located in the Manaus Free Trade zone ? produces Samsung electronics for sale across Latin America, according to Reporter Brasil. It employs some 6,000 workers, and employees say some shifts can last up to 15 hours, with 10-hour days of standing not uncommon. Workers complained of physical aches stemming from the long hours and work conditions.
One worker said that he assembled nearly 3,000 phones per day for the South Korean giant's Brazilian arm. Other workers reported having only 32 seconds to fully assemble a mobile phone and 65 seconds to fully assemble a television set. Some employees were said to work up to 27 days in a row.
Manaus is located in the eastern portion of Amazonas, Brazil's largest state. The city has undergone massive growth in both population and economic health over the years, and it is now home to more than 1.8 million people. A number of major multinational technology firms, such as Samsung, LG, and Phillips, have made a presence there.
The manufacture of smartphones and electronics, like many consumer items, has become the target of criticism, as the workers that assemble those devices many times do not enjoy living standards comparable to those of the people that buy them. Like its chief rival, Apple, Samsung has in the past had to deal with assorted labor violations among its many suppliers' factories. The Manaus facility, though, is said to be run by Samsung, not a supplier as in the case with Apple.
As its products have grown more popular, Apple has endeavored to improve labor conditions for the people working in its own worldwide network of suppliers. The Cupertino company, under some pressure from observers, has called for shorter work hours and better overall conditions for its suppliers' employees, going so far as to terminate contracts when suppliers violate the company's labor standards.
Samsung, in a statement, said that it would take a look at the allegations and cooperate fully with Brazilian authorities.
"We are committed to offering our collaborators around the world a work environment that ensures the highest standards when it comes to safety, health and well-being," the statement said.
Comments
'Kay. Then how about having your 3 CEO's visit some of these plant, and personally make sure your company does follow suit?
Woohoo! Go Brazil!!
Where's Mike Daisey and the New York Times now?
"The Agony and Ecstacy of J.K. Shin" won't have the same ticket sales.
Ya I'm sure they stipulated that up front when they negotiated bringing a facility to Brazil.
"And of course the working conditions will suck":rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by politicalslug
I'm no Samsung apologist (Apple fan here!) but Brazil should just be happy it's taking the business from China. They knew the conditions would suck before the factory was ever built. This complaint is a joke.
Exploiting workers in sweatshop conditions is not a joke to a lot of people.
I know there are many here who don't feel that sweatshops are a bad thing and logical arguments can even be made to defend them. However, there's a reason they get such a bad reputation and that's because most people are against them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DroidFTW
Exploiting workers in sweatshop conditions is not a joke to a lot of people.
I know there are many here who don't feel that sweatshops are a bad thing and logical arguments can even be made to defend them. However, there's a reason they get such a bad reputation and that's because most people are against them.
Really?
Can you give me some logical arguments that defend sweatshops?
And those workers IN Brazil should be happy to be abused? Or should the situation get fixed?
Seems like an easy choice to me.
It was lost in translation
Corporations once 'used' human labour to squeeze out maximum profits. The phrase now it to "leverage its workforce". Wiggle phrasing means the same. :no:
"And so it goes" says Kurt Vonnegut, if I remember correctly.
Honestly, guys, this is ONE poster who should be blocked and not quoted.
This is the first time to my recollect (real crap memory, however) that I have quoted.
It's bad enough that sentient beings are put to such poor paying labours, but to disrespect their plight this way, horrid.
This is one to just BLOCK!
Addendum: he doesn't think like an honest Apple fellow. Might he be one of FacsimileSam's or Goolie's paid trolls?
It brings revenue to Brazil and jobs to its people. You make it sound as though these people are forced to work there. They aren't. This isn't China. No one locks the doors at night or prevents them from leaving. They are taking a job and choosing to accept the conditions. One day, perhaps, Brazil will become a post-industrial economy and at that time they can choose to enact laws preventing this kind of exploitation. Until then, the country needs the income and the powers that be in Brazil deem the rewards worth the cost. No one is surprised by this "news". It happens en every similar factory. That's just how the world works. The alternative is Samsung pulling out of Brazil and reinvesting in another country. Do you honestly think that's better for the Brazilians who will then find themselves without the means to feed their families? I'm sorry, but even though we in the first works think this sucks, conditions like this are an inevitability of industrialization.
Read the rest of my posts before you open your flap and pronounce me a troll.
As was the "we'll sue you for $100 million over it".
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDBA
Really?
Can you give me some logical arguments that defend sweatshops?
While I don't agree with sweatshops at all and I don't agree with the reasoning, I'll list a few common ones below. If you'd like to dispute them with me you'll only be preaching to the choir. However, I'm sure someone here would be more than willing to defend them as I've heard all of these arguments here and elsewhere in defense of sweatshops. I personally feel there are huge holes in these arguments, but they usually go as follows:
- sweatshops raise the standard of living
- the workers would rather have a bad job than no job
- if they weren't working in a sweatshop they may turn to crime/prostitution or starve
Originally Posted by politicalslug
Read the rest of my posts before you open your flap and pronounce me a troll.
All three of them?
Pffft. Ridiculous. You act like Samsung holds all the cards here. No one is forcing Samsung to build factories in Brazil. If they don't want to play by Brazil's rules they're free to go elsewhere.
When you wrote "conditions like these are an inevitability of industrialization" I was reminded of a quote, I can't remember who and I'm paraphrasing here,
"Life can be much broader when once you discover one fact, and that is, everything around you that you call life... I don't know who made it up. And you certainly can't poke life, or mold and change it. I mean, you'd have to be crazy, right?"