It's pretty common knowledge that working conditions in China and other parts of Asia are not too great or held to high standards legally like in Western countries. Foxconn is no exception. In one of their factories in a highly populated region of China, they were employing over 190,000 workers in 2012 with projections of that number growing to over 300,000 workers in the future. It's pretty easy to imagine how the conditions would be with that many people working in a plant that covers approximately 2.2 square miles. Long shifts with forced, unpaid overtime involving meticulous and repetitive tasks is a norm for most employees. Once they finally get to rest, they retire to their dormitories provided by Foxconn, in which one employee reported she had a bunk bed in a room that was shared with seven other workers. At the time of the article the average employee was earning $244 a month, which barely covered rent for the dormitory and food that would be bought from Foxconn canteens. Managers are also ruthless to employees, harshly punishing employees for mistakes for all of their coworkers to witness. Also around the time of the article it had gotten so bad at the Taiyun factory that a violent riot involving 2,000 workers broke out. Some employees even went so far as to have the mindset that suicide was a better option for them. In response, Foxconn has installed nettings around some of the facilities to prevent any further attempts.
Source:http://www.wired.com/2010/11/thomas-lee-foxconn/
Although these conditions appear brutal, they may not be all that surprising to some. There are factories and firms with far worse conditions in Asia. The issue here is if Apple is doing enough to prevent these issues and help put the people who make their products into a better condition. Apple has stated that they are deeply concerned with the conditions and any accusations otherwise are false and offensive to them. This may be true, but these conditions are still occurring, and I assume Apple has the power to apply a lot of pressure to Foxconn to change these conditions, otherwise they could take their manufacturing contracts to a different firm. Foxconn also says that they are doing everything in their power to improve conditions for their workers, but it wouldn't be a very pressing issue to you to make things better for existing employees that are complaining when there are hundreds of thousands of people banging on your doors begging for work.
While the conditions are bad, the employee pay for the work they do is the real downfall here. They go through all of these hardships to try to provide for their loved ones and at the end of the month have barely anything left over to send to family. One of the ways that Apple could make an impact into the issue would be to pay Foxconn more for their contracts to allow for higher employee wages. The article reported that in June of 2012, Apple had $117 billion IN CASH. I think they could afford to pay the people who make their shiny products a little more dough. Or, if profits are really the only thing they care about, they should take their contracts to other firms that are committed to treating their employees better. If people are choosing suicide over working in these conditions, there is something inherently wrong that needs to be changed, and the entity that is ultimately responsible in these situations is at the top of the tree. In this case, an Apple tree.
Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/
It is my opinion that Apple is not doing enough to stop the abuse of the workers that help make their products. Apple is aware that factory workers in China who are making their products are being abuse and are not being paid adequately. Apple as a company have taken a stance on this issue. They must agree with what Foxconn is doing in China because they are still doing business with them. I think it should be an easy decision. If a company finds out that a manufacturer is engaging in unethical behavior, that manufacturer should be given an ultimatum. Stop the abuse of your workers or we will stop doing business with you. If the abuse continues then the company should stop doing business with that manufacturer. Apple continues to do business with Foxconn, so they must approve of how workers are being treated. No amount of profit can justify how these workers are being treated. That might be how factories in Asia operate, but that does not make it ok. Abuse is abuse, it does not matter if that is the norm or not. I think ethical people who are aware of this problem should boycott Apple’s products.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that Apple obviously isn't too upset about the conditions because they are continuing to do business with Foxconn. On the point of boycotting the products though, I just don't think people would ever band together and boycott them enough to make an impact on Apple. People want the latest and greatest technology, and they're willing to pay for it. It would take a tremendous movement to boycott Apple products to the point of having an effect. And, I think there would have to be a similar movement for other electronic device manufacturers because I'm sure the issue of unethical treatment towards workers is not Apple exclusive.
DeleteGood article, and I agree with most of what Saye said in his comment. Apple can exert an enormous amount of pressure on Foxconn if they wanted to (andy maybe they have), and Apple has the option to bid out any and all contracts to whomever they please. If Foxconn isn't up to the task, there are no doubt other companies that would fill the job that Foxconn is now providing. The contract that Apple and Foxconn have is probably more lucrative than defense and military contracts with the government. I don't mean to completely rip on Apple, but I have heard a few negative things about some of their suppliers. Apple corp. under Steve Jobs had profit as its number one mission--almost at all costs. They provided innovate and advanced products that people would pay a lot of money for. However, some of the workers seem to be exploited. In certain parts of China, living conditions are pretty dire and many people are grateful for jobs. There is a huge disparity between the wealthy coastal areas and the poorer inland areas. Many workers get caught between the two extremes, and it is no doubt hard for the average workers to see how well some of the people live. The problem isn't exclusive to Apple and its suppliers, but is common to developing regions of the world doing business with the West.
ReplyDeleteThose are the two main issues: Profit is the goal, no matter what; and the workers are willing to put up with these conditions just because they need the job so much. So in the end, the conditions are the way they are because both parties are allowing it. Apple isn't gonna go too far out of their way, say to the point of a massive profit cut, to make any differences, and the workers aren't going to make an impact because there's a line of people behind them clawing for their job. It's a very tough situation, and it doesn't look like there's any real clear solution without some major policy or legal changes.
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