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Subscribe to RSSTAIPEI - A young worker at a Chinese plant supplying tech giant Apple jumped from his apartment Wednesday, it was reported - the first suicide since the plant's owners agreed to improve work conditions.
Foxconn Technology Group, the main supplier of Apple Inc, said on Thursday that the 23 year-old employee fell to his death from his apartment located outside the plant in the southwestern city of Chengdu.
The worker had joined the company last month and police were investigating the death.
"Foxconn is sparing no efforts in cooperating with the police and helping with the investigations," the statement said, according to a report on the website of news channel Focus Taiwan.
Apple and Foxconn reached an agreement in March to improve conditions for the 1.2 million workers assembling iPhones and iPads, a landmark decision that could change the way Western companies do business in China.
iPhone game to benefit Foxconn employee who attempted suicide
According to the agreement, Foxconn would hire tens of thousands of new workers to reduce overtime work, improve safety protocols and upgrade housing and other amenities.
The move comes after Apple, criticized over working conditions at its sprawling chain of suppliers in China, agreed to an investigation by the independent Fair Labor Association earlier this year to stem criticism that its products were built in sweatshop-like conditions.
A series of suicides among young workers were reported at Foxconn in 2010, and three workers died in an explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu last June.
A report in The New York Times also documented the cramped living conditions of Foxconn employees, as well as excessive hours on the job and seven-day workweeks in which employees stand for hours without break
'This American Life' retracts damning report on Apple manufacturer Foxconn
Foxconn also announced in mid-February it had raised wages for workers by 16 to 25 percent.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, which makes iPhones and iPads for Apple, is the main listed unit of the Foxconn group, while Foxconn International manufactures handsets for clients such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson.
About 100 workers from Foxconn's Chengdu plant went on the rampage earlier this month after a dispute in a restaurant turned violent.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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I wonder how much more the CEO of Apple makes over one of these workers?
Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple. I mention that because so many here don't bother to know what or whom they're criticizing.
The Chinese people have a strong work ethic unlike the US worker. They love to work overtime.
Mark - there's a difference between overtime and all the time.
I like overtime, if im getting paid overtime...but even then there's a limit.
Im not lazy, I LOVE MY FAMILY AND LIVING LIFE> not slaving away so my CEO can make bank.
If that means I have a crappy work ethic, so be it...im not interested in being someones slave. Kudos to you though.
Jessica, you da bomb!
Mark, get your smackers off the boss's arse.
I hope that everyone here realizes that working conditions may not have ANYTHING to do with the suicide. In the US we have 190 suicides per 1 million people per year. Foxconn has 1.2 million employees assembling only iPhones and iPads. I don't mean to sound cold about it, but statistics show that Foxconn is well below the US average. The Chinese suicide figures aren't released for comparison.
Mark, you make it sound as if the fact that they are used to being treated like crap and working in horrible conditions for just about nothing means that American workers are lazy or awful for actually wanting to get paid and have reasonable schedules. They may "love" to work overtime (and by the way, many, many Americans do as well and work more than one job) because mainly they seriously need the money since they don't get paid a decent wage, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't get paid enough to live on or treated decently.
This isn't about American workers. This story is about people who are treated like crap so American and other countries' CEOs can live in luxury and Americans can not pay so much for electronics.
Some day we'll be able to get back to slave labor here too.
Not very far off. Dump all unions, get rid of minimum wage, stop paid sick leave or vacations and stop employee healthcare. That should just about do it.
Mark, you're showing your ignorance. My wife is Chinese, and only moved here to the USA about a year ago. Most of the people doing this factory work are people who have been displaced from the rural areas, and they take these jobs and work these hours because it's their only option.
The rest of her family lives in a medium size city (about 4 million people) and work normal jobs like the rest of us. Both of her younger sisters work at normal 8 AM to 5 PM jobs five days a week, and her older sister was able to retire on a government pension at the age of 55.
Terry Geu of Foxcomm is worth 4.8B, 4th richest in Taiwan, and #184 in the list of Forbes billionaires. More difficult to find a yearly compensation amount, but he is quotes as saying something like 'what is wrong with hard work, a little blood and sweat' when asked about working conditions in him factories.
Tim Cook of Apple - $328M in 2011 which includes restricted stocks.
These men should be admired.
Easy - the problem with that quote, is that there isnt ANY AMOUNT OF HARD WORK, INGENUITY AND INNOVATION that warrants a single individual to have 4.8 billion dollars - when he couldnt have "earned" that without 1.5 millions slaves doing all his actual hard work and output.
If only I had 1.5 million slaves, imagine what I COULD DO AND BECOME! if only.
oh wait, I have morals, integrity and things that some greedy money loving christians will never have - HEART.
Tell it all, Jessica!
Mark, right...sure. Troll.
I agree. Mark is a troll.
I used to work for a small branch of a company that was sold to Foxconn a few years ago, and Terry and his VP came over to view the facilities and such. He's a traditional in the ways of working. I think the asian arm of the company gets like 4 maybe 5 holidays a year, and was quite annoyed with the group I worked for getting 12? (forget the exact). He did grow his company from nothing to something, though.
I'm a capitalist in the truest sense, but I also believe you can not get anywhere in life without the people you depend on, in this case, his employees. He could be a leading example in Taiwan and China on improving working conditions through better hours, pay and benefits. And Apple, if they had any backbone, would pressure Foxconn to do so, since Apple is their largest client.
Slave labor at its finest...
Living in company housing near the plant, buying everything at the 'company store' with company issued 'script' and being worked literally to the point of desperation...
Sounds exactly like the US coal mines in the early 1900's. China really has been paying attention. They have set things up just like in the coal fields of West Virginia. Look out China. Here come the UNIONS!
I want to know why their are 1.2 million people putting together phones and working and those jobs are not in America. I love apple but that pisses me off. It sucks that these people have to go trough that but apple should be ashamed of itself for giving America away to a country that clearly cares less about its workers. As well they should be ashamed that they are as much of the problem as the rest of the corporations killing America.
Don't be alarmed but we outsource about 50% of everything you own to foreign countries.
From socks to light bulbs man.
mine - because it's hard to find slaves in america now days...according to republicans, the UNIONS destroyed that american dream.
That's a nice gut reaction, but the iPhone wouldn't exist if it had to be built in the US.
So if the products are made in China, you get an iPhone from an American company that you bought from an American store, that you use an American cell phone company to use. If the products are made in the US...well, they wouldn't be because nobody would be able to afford the iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc. and/or their profit margins would be too small to take risks with innovation.
Either way, no jobs in US for manufacturing the products. But if they're made in China, the US gets the jobs that are attaching to selling and using the products, building cell/internet infrastructure, making games and other apps, etc.
The reason why it's not made in the US is that we have laws about how you can treat your employees. Laws China doesn't have. Apple had a choice, they could be ethical and make them in the USA or not.
Matt left out that by making iPhones in China they still have to be shipped over here which adds to the cost. But the CEOs don't see that cost, they only see the initial manufacturing cost.
Actually they do have some laws against this; but they're mostly not enforced. In China money talks, and the more money you have the louder it speaks. The Chinese industrial economy is built on the principle of the few rich exploiting the rest of the population.
Sort of like...
But will any number of Americans do anything about it? Will they fire off an email to Apple HQ, or to the CEO......will people protest and stop buying every new phone like sheep? You can bet if a few million people stopped buying Apple products...then Apple might pay attention. Well folks.....what are YOU going to do about it????
How is your life better because you have a I-phone. ENJOY!!!
Apple, an American co.? Because of all the manufacturing in China, America suffers. If they manufactured in U.S, they would pay tax. (way more), lessen unemployment. and would sell their i-phones for even more. (I-phones used to be twice the price and even then there were waiting lines).
The solution is simple - stop buying apple products. Putting that solution into action is much, much harder.
But, if production was moved to the US, people would stop buying Apple because it would be prohibitively expensive.
I do not own an Apple product, so it I'm on the bandwagon.
Why do you think Apple is the only customer of Foxconn? They are a contact supplier for a bunch of companies.
somebefuddledperson, there is a VERY high likelihood that whatever you used to type that post was made at foxconn.
It's pretty hard to find a purely foriegn or domestic product these days. For example, I drive a toyota that was built in America. I'd call it an American car. On the other hand I work for a supplier for the auto Industry. Both of our current plants are in Mexico but they get shipped to the US and the cars themselves get built here.
On the plus side our next plant will be in the US.
You are going to work for Toyota?
Apple is an evil company. I will NEVER buy another Apple product again in my life. Period.
I hope you're willing to live your life using almost no modern technology, because Foxconn supplies pretty much ALL tech companies, not just Apple. Apple is the one that actually tries to DO something about the working conditions at Foxconn.
They never said anything about foxconn... they hate apple, I do too. There is no use for a company that wants to slow down innovation and go into legal battles with it's competitors constantly. Their markup is high and people just eat it up because they market the hell out of them. Any apple PC can be beaten in performance and price by any of their competitors, you pay a premium because you are lazy to do the research. Everything they produce is proprietary and I have no use for that I want stuff that works with other stuff. If I download a song and pay for it it should work on ANY device I have no just apple branded ones.
Maxxa, Apple users aren't lazy, they just "think different".
Apple keeps using the same business model:
They create somewhat innovative spins on existing technology. For example the iPhone is nothing new, smart phones, PDA's and mp3 players have been around a lot longer than the iPhone\iPod. I had one of the original Blackberry smart phones and have had several windows CE\ windows mobile devices way before the iPhone was created.
Apple takes the existing idea and refines it and markets the hell out of it. They also restrict it and make developers go through a living hell to make content for it. People buy it because it is well marketed compared to the competition and for a while they typically have the majority of the market, so content creators deal with it and write software for them.
Then another company takes Apple's idea and either makes it better or recreates it so that it isn't a locked down brick that is a pain in the ass to code for. Androids for example. The operating system looks and feels somewhat similar but is open source and has the ability to interface with several common programing languages. Thus it is easier for content creators to develop for it. Androids are also available at a range of prices and any carrier can build and sell one without needing to go through Apple and follow all their ridiculous rules.
Androids are cheaper, just as easy to use, less restrictive and available for any carrier. So now, androids have over taken iOS devices. Meanwhile Apple continues their anti flash, anti java, Apple's way or the Highway approach and developers are slowly but surely going to tell Apple to go screw themselves.
I have a mac mini on my desk. It currently serves no useful purpose except I occasionally play chess on it. I like the OS X chess program, except I have to put it on the easiest setting or else it takes 5 minutes for the slow POS to take its turn. I got the mini so that I could write iPhone software, but Objective C is such a pain in the ass that my company just said screw it and we switched to java for the android. I am glad we did.
Here's the deal Apple, I will not buy another apple product until you move your operations stateside and provide decent jobs to the people of our country! I will also go further and recommend that all my family and friends do the same, boycott Apple and all its products! This also goes for Sony, HP and the rest of you corporations that are the reason our economy is failing. Insource instead of outsource jobs!!!
That sound you hear is Apple laughing its ass off, Dave. Like they care.
Dave - if it were that simple, but ALL phones are made over there.
So are you giving up cell phones entirely? I doubt it...
im not poo-pooing your desire to stick it to the man, but these days...everything is the man, intentionally, so that in the end...you're only sticking it to yourself.
they got us by the balls (or ovaries)
Sony is a Japanese corporation.
Sony is and always has been a Japanese corporation.
Sony also outsources its parts purchases to China and Indonesia.
Stop being so emotional people. This 23 year old just joined a MONTH ago and can't take it? Gosh, life is sometimes difficult, one got to handle the ups-and-downs.
Stop comparing a hinterland youth to CEOs. Capitalism works like that, you get to the top, you have lots more to work with, just starting in life, gotta put up know what I mean.
He probably had a fight with his girlfriend.
Speaks volumes about the working conditions, huh?
"Stop being so emotional people" - it's not like someone killed themselves or anything, oh wait...thats exactly what he did.
apparently, in this christian nation, it's ridiculous to give a sh!t
The only thing we make in the country anymore is debt. I try to build old hot rods and it's damn near impossible to find aftermarket parts that are made here. So you buy the Chinese part and try to put it on but it doesn't fit. Doesn't even come close to fitting. So you box it back up and take it back to the parts store and ask if they might have anything still made in America. Every once in a while you might find something from Federal-Mogul or another company, but mostly it's cheap crap from China. And don't even get me started on the Call Centers in India.
Hipsters suck. Who wants to blow a grand on a fixed-gear bike anyway?
So why do Liberals and Concerned Citizens keep buying Apple Products?
Way to go painting with a broad brush.
It's so heartless. We need to help those Chinaman by BRINGING ALL THE JOBS HOME FROM CHINA.
Stop buying products from Apple!!!
@Rob,
Couldn't resist a political slap in the face could ya? You never do.....
@Tim,
Yah! Start buying them from Motorola, Samsung or sony! But do it quickly before they get busted for using sweatshop labor companies in China too!
Because he worked at the factory and he jumped to his death (at his apartment outside the factory), then Apple (and those who buy their products) is responsible. There's a lot of assuming going on here. What a crap article.
These thirdworld working conditions are like prisons, but with a way out sadly. There are always a number of bullies, cheaters, extortionists and scare tactics, withheld pay, fines, quotas etc. it inhumane
I know this maybe hard for some of you to believe but you can exist just fine without a cell phone.
While the conditions might not be exactly the same as in America, they are no where near as bad as the news media would make it out to be. I just recently returned from China where I had the previlage to visit foxconn and see the working conditions for myself. Lets just say I was happily surprised. Like most, I assumed that the conditions were deplorable and that working there was like being a zombie. What I discovered thought was totally different. In the plants they were not cramped, they had air conditioning, and overall seemed very happy. As far as the overtime goes, no the overtime is not required. Just like in america it is their choice whether they want to work overtime or not. Also, they don't stand for hours with out breaks. They get an hour lunch break and 2 15 minute breaks for an 8 hour work day just like most jobs in america. As far as living conditions go I didn't get to see the dorms, but I know that they have many fun activities that they can participate in while they are not working. It isn't just the work and sleep like some media stories have told. Overall conditions where drastically better than I expected. I wouldn't mind working in similar conditions in america. Just with pay adjusted for america.
This from Wikipedia:
Although the number of suicides at the company (Foxconn) is large in absolute terms, the suicide rate is still low compared to the rest of China[8] although the country has a high suicide rate with over 20 deaths per 100,000 persons.[14] In 2010, Foxconn's worst year for suicides with a total of 14 deaths, their total employee count was 930,000 people.[15] The suicide rate for Foxconn that year was 1.5 per 100,000 making it well below the national average (around 7% of the national average). Even when calculated as if all the employee deaths were from the Shenzhen factory complex alone (to simulate a localised area suicide rate), which in 2010 had a workforce of 450,000,[15] the rate is still well below the national average at 3.11 per 100,000 (around 14% the national average).
For comparison also from Wikipedia, the suicide rates per 100,000 of population for some other countries:
Country Rate Rank
Lithuania 34.1 1
South Korea 31.2 2
Japan 23.8 7
China 22.2 9
US 11.8 41
Hardly suggesting this did not actually occur, however it is a strange story. It comes from Taipei, but happen in Chengdu. Secondly, why did a 23 yr old less than one month into employment commit suicide based on that employment? Kid had other issues, I think. Much, too much, lacking to base any reasonable and meaningful response.
If it is not MADE IN AMERICA by american workers in America. Don't buy it. Already these large corporations like Apple, really don't care if we buy their products, they want to sell to the Chinese. Let Apple be a Chinese company and pay import fees for manufacturing overseas.
DON'T BUY PRODUCTS unless they are made in the USA by US workers.
After a while Foxconn will shift production to India, Malaysia, or another SE Asian country that has a huge labor supply and they can do the same things or worse. Also, all of these products have their "fake" Chinese or Korean version readily available on the market in China and all around SE Asia. Often they work just as well as the original and if a certain feature dosn't work well it can be retrofitted in an electronics market. These workers are right to want more humane work environments, hours and living conditions. But, THEY KNOW what it is like and sign up for this work anyways. Often they are sending their entire paycheck to their family in the countryside. The real story is concerning that they do this and why they do it.... So think about it and you will see there is another side to the coin that is equally as troubling.
This was a news story from a Taiwan source about an incident in mainland China. Taiwan is "part of China" according the the Chinese government, however, the Taiwanese view themselves as an independent Democratic nation made up of Chinese people... Taiwan won their independence from the Japanese who invaded and ran their country for many years. Independence occurred I believe shortly after WWII ended. I do believe a Taiwanese news service is entirely capable of reporting on events in the mainland. Why not?