2nd May 11
Apple accused of treating Chinese workers inhumanely
by Adam Richards
Apple products: high human costs?
Apple products: high human costs?
An investigation into the way Chinese workers are treated has revealed the extent of the human cost of producing Apple iPads and iPhones which are now must-have products in the west.
The study, which two NGOs carried out, has revealed worrying allegations of draconian workplace rules and excessive working hours at two of southern China’s major plants. He research has also exposed an “anti-suicide” pledge which workers at the plants have been encouraged to sign, following a number of employer deaths in 2010.
The investigation provides a detailed picture of how the 500,000 employees work on a day-to-day basis at the Chengdu and Shenzhen factories owned by Foxconn. Each year millions of Apple products are produced at the two factories. The report claims Foxconn treats its employees “inhumanely, like machines”.
The investigation, which was carried out by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (Sacom), found that employees claimed excessive overtime is routine, even though the legal limit in China is 36 hours per month. One pay slip indicated that the employee had work 98 hours overtime in just one month.
Workers trying to meet the massive demand for the original iPad were sometimes pressured into taking just one day off out of 13. In some factories, workers who were performing badly were publicly mocked in front of fellow employees.
The study found that crowded workers’ dormitories which can sleep as many as 24 are subject to strict regulations. One employee informed the NGO researchers that he was made to sign a confessions document after he illicitly used a hairdryer. He has to state in the letter that it was his fault and he will never blow his hair inside his room again.
The research also discovered that after Foxconn witnessed a spate of suicides at its factory last summer, workers were obliged to sign a statement which promised they would not kill themselves and vowing to “treasure their lives”.
The company produced its first iPad last November at Chengdu and expects to make 100m per year by 2013. In 2010, Apple sold over 15m iPads globally and has already sold nearly five million so far this year.
When questioned about the allegations, manager Louis Woo acknowledged that employees sometimes worked more hours than the overtime limit in order to meet western consumers’ demand; however, he claimed that any additional hours were voluntary. Employees claim that if they don’t work the overtime, the must live off their basic wage of 1,350 yuan (£125) per month for a 48-hour week, around 65p an hour.
When Woo was asked about the suicides, which have resulted in anti-suicide netting being placed below the windows of employees’ dormitories, he claimed that they were not related to poor working conditions. He added that there was a knock-on effect, where if one person committed suicide, another would follow.
Our Stories
- Sandwich labels misleading shoppers
- Unemployment drops unexpectedly but worse still to come
- Tesco store managers see annual bonuses cut
- Royal Mail: half London sorting office to be sold
- Panasonic announces £3.4bn loss
- Thomas Cook attacks government over holidays at home promotion
- Clinton Cards falls into administration
- Wet April sees high street spending fall
- Five tough years ahead for UK jobs market
- Deal struck to save Thomas Cook
- Discount battle leads to sales decline at Morrisons
- Wetherspoon founder: pubs plans to be hit by taxes
Popular Topics
afghanistan al qaeda amazon Apple ASDA bank of england barack obama BBC british airways china david cameron Debenhams Egypt facebook george osborne Google India ipad iphone ivory coast japan Libya London M&S Marks & Spencer Morrisons nhs North Korea Office for National Statistics pakistan protests russia Sainsbury’s South Korea terrorism Tesco Tunisia UK UK retailers UK retail news UK shopping us Waitrose Wikileaks x factorArchive
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
