Conflicting accounts are beginning to get media attention about a group of possibly hundreds of workers at a plant in China who threatened to commit mass suicide over a pay dispute. Workers for Foxconn - which makes parts for the Xbox, iPhone, iPad, Kindle, Wii, and the PS3 - apparently took to the roof of one of the company dormitories and made the threat.
A report via Kotaku says the event followed an employee request for a raise, but were told they could either keep their jobs with no increase or quit and get severance pay. Other reports say the company told the employees their Xbox production line was being shut down and some would be transferred and the rest simply fired. As for the number of those who made the suicide threat, reports range from a few dozen to as many as 300. (More pictures here.)
Foxconn is the world's largest maker of electronic components, and is also the largest private employer in China. In 2010, one worker did commit suicide at one plant, which prompted the company to install 'suicide prevention netting' at some of their plants. Recent investigations at the some of the plants showed near-military like conditions for workers who are under constant surveillance as they work and live at the factory dorms.
Microsoft did issue a statement about the incident -
"Microsoft is one of many companies that contracts with Foxconn to
manufacture hardware. Upon learning of the labor protest in Wuhan, we
immediately conducted an independent investigation of this issue.
After talking with workers and management, it is our understanding
that the worker protest was related to staffing assignments and transfer
policies, not working conditions. Due to regular production
adjustments, Foxconn offered the workers the option of being transferred
to alternative production lines or resigning and receiving all salary
and bonuses due, according to length of service. After the protest, the
majority of workers chose to return to work. A smaller portion of those
employees elected to resign.
Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture
its products very seriously. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct
that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions
closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft
is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by
our vendors and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."
The company's full list of customers is available here.
The Daily Show did a thing on it last night, very well done:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-16-2012/fear-factory
Basically the point being, we don't WANT to compete with China for jobs, if THIS is what it takes to manufacture the electronic crap Americans want to buy.
What's said is we started talking about Foxconn waaay back in 2010.
I just finished reading Fareed Zakaria's "The Post American World." I don't agree with everything he says but a few items resonated, such as the reality of how in this day and age, it's not just capital that is globally mobile, it's labor. That's just reality and that bell won't be unrung. We won't be getting those manufacturing jobs back, and I'm not sure we want them if that's what it takes. America may not create the hardware, but we are creating the content and we are creating the software. Which makes this whole intellectual property discussion more interesting.
Much to think about ....
no simple solutions - yet it is quite instructive to note how little the U.S. press covers these terrible accounts of how Foxconn operates, especially since the American media is driven by ads for all those items they make!
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