You are NOT allowed to commit suicide: Workers in Chinese iP
-
Factories making sought-after Apple iPads and iPhones in China are forcing staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide, an investigation has revealed.
At least 14 workers at Foxconn factories in China have killed themselves in the last 16 months as a result of horrendous working conditions.
Many more are believed to have either survived attempts or been stopped before trying at the Apple supplier's plants in Chengdu or Shenzen.
Appalling conditions: An investigation by two NGOs has found new workers at Foxconn factories in China are made to sign a 'no suicide' pledge
After a spate of suicides last year, managers at the factories ordered new staff to sign pledges that they would not attempt to kill themselves, according to researchers.
And they were made to promise that if they did, their families would only seek the legal minimum in damages.
An investigation of the 500,000 workers by the Centre for Research on Multinational Companies and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (Sacom) found appalling conditions in the factories.
They claimed that:
- Excessive overtime was rife, despite a legal limit of 36 hours a month. One payslip showed a worker did 98 hours of overtime in one month, the Observer reported.
- During peak periods of demand for the iPad, workers were made to take only one day off in 13.
- Badly performing workers were humiliated in front of colleagues.
- Workers are banned from talking and are made to stand up for their 12-hour shifts.
Grim: Netting has been put up outside worker dormitories buildings in Chengdu and Shenzhen after a spate of suicides last year
The 'anti-suicide pledge' was brought in after sociologists wrote an open letter to the media calling for an end to restrictive working practices.
But the investigation revealed many of the workers still lived in dismal conditions, with some only going home to see family once a year.
One worker told the newspaper: 'Sometimes my roommates cry when they arrive in the dormitory after a long day.'
She said they were made to work illegally long hours for a basic daily wage, as little as £5.20, and that workers were housed in dormitories of up to 24 people a room.
In Chengdu, working between 60 and 80 hours overtime a month was normal, with many breaching Apple's own code of conduct with the length of their shifts.
And the investigation found that employees claimed they were not allowed to speak to each other.
Production line: The investigation found illegal amounts of overtime was rife and workers claimed they were not allowed to talk during shifts
Must have: High demand for iPods and iPads in the west has fuelled the tough working conditions for part suppliers in China
Foxconn admits that it breaks overtime laws, but claims all the overtime is voluntary.
Some officials within the company even accused workers of committing suicide to secure large compensation payments for their families.
Anti-suicide nets were put up around the dormitory buildings on the advice of psychologists.
Foxconn said it had faced 'some very challenging months for everyone associated with the Foxconn family and the loss of a number of colleagues to tragic suicides'.
Spokesman Louis Woo, responding to allegations that staff were humiliated, said: 'It is not something we endorse or encourage. However, I would not exclude that this might happen given the diverse and large population of our workforce.
'But we are working to change it.'
He added that employees were 'encouraged not to engage in conversations that may distract them from the attention needed to ensure accuracy and their own safety'.
Sacom said the company initially responded to the spate of suicides by bringing in monks to exorcise evil spirits.
Leontien Aarnoudse, a Sacom official, told The People: 'They work excessive overtime for a salary they can hardly live on and are inhumanely treated.
'Conditions are harsh and they don't have a social life. Their life is just working in a factory and that is it.'
Demand for iPads and iPhones has soared, resulting in tough targets for workers in Apple factories.
Apple's supplier code of conduct demands that employees are treated with respect and dignity, but its own audit reports suggest suppliers in China may not meet up to these standards.
The global high-tech product manufacturer made profits of $6billion ni the first quarter of 2011.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382396/Workers-Chinese-Apple-factories-forced-sign-pledges-commit-suicide.html#ixzz1e8rEyKrA -
this is true, i know some about China, esp the Foxconn. all the iphone, ipad, ipod and others series of APPLE's products are produced based on Chinese ppl's flesh and blood, even their lives, many ppl died of overtime working to meet the world demands.
use the lives to exchange the APPLE's products..
-
this is a shame to China's bid to be the world's superpower. it has a long way to match US's innovation, IP, patents etc.
-
Originally posted by Rooney_07:
this is a shame to China's bid to be the world's superpower. it has a long way to match US's innovation, IP, patents etc.
huh? what have it have to do with innovation, IP and patents?anyway....u all dun understand lah.... those chinese worker go there far from their home not to have off days on sat and sun and knock off at 5.30 so they can go back their bunk to face the 4 walls lah.... they are there to do as much OT as possible and earn as much money as posible then go back their home town la....u ask those m'sian worker in tua factory if they want to go home sleep or OT more more??
-
My pastor also know about this news long time ago.Please use other smartphones such as Alcatel, Nokia and Sony Ericssons.
-
There's a legal limit for OT... Anyway, the company is a ROC firm
-
ppl always compared steve Jobs with bill gates, who is the better, i would choose the latter one...
and i dun think the iphone is the best, if you really know about the smartphone, you will not use it..
ps, i use de htc
-
Now I see the reason behind no cellphone rule in our public places.If one less person uses handphones, the world will be a better one.
-
Do you expect the workers to be talking and chatting during work? - NO!
Are they forced to work OT? -> NO! They can alway resign and go back to do farming.
They are paid by hours so the more they work, they more they earn.
The article sounds like they are like slaves, but in fact, they can always resign.
-
as if singapore can suicide. suicide is a crim in singapore. according to law. if u attemp to suicide,u will be jail. so i strongly encourage those wanna suiciders, either jump 1 time die or try to claw up if u can.
-
why dont they just quit?
why commit suicide?
-
Originally posted by dragg:
why dont they just quit?
why commit suicide?
usually people who committed suicide are depressed. they are not able to think and feel rationally already. they are depressed all the time, and suicide is the only way out to them.
-
who say connot. but don;t get caught.
if you die successfully, handcuffing your corspe when you are dead really means nothing to you since your life support is gone and you ceased to think with an active brain and a pulsating heartbeat, your blood all flood out dry with nothing to substain your life force.
but pelase please die also die in a cleanner manner - avoid MRT tracks as thousand of people sho don;t wanna die and cannot afford to be late for etheir jobs, jumping off and crushing down on people or people;'s laundry, casinoes where they are many ang mohs who see why the place got people die want bad ipression of singapore etc.
MRTtrack is worse, some may be working as frontline people soldiers nurse, civi defence personnel, airforce radar servelance offices - if they late got people dyying, natural disasters, enermy fighter jets come in lots more people are goong to die ebacuse of youe 1 puny death