Foxconn Labor Report Reveals Overworked Conditions

[exfileme]

The FLA has returned from Foxconn with its investigative report, and it's not pretty.

Foxconn Labor Report Reveals Overworked Conditions : Read more

 

[A Bad Day]

Pay: Above China's minimum
Hours: Acceptable by some
Safety: "We're going to use neurotoxic cleaning agents because they faster and save us money. Buy your own gas masks."

 

[therabiddeer]

I dont get how this is "overworked" conditions. I work 60 hours a week in AMERICA, and frequently work 7 days a week. I get paid to do it and I often choose to do it. There are tons of people that work that many hours each week.

Hell, especially in the tech industry, 40 hours a week is bordering on uncommon these days across the globe.

 

[zulutech]

[citation][nom]frozonic[/nom]Lets be honest....who REALLY CARES about their working condintions? exactly, nobody other that themselves, if they are not happy with their work, they should just quit, and if the have to work in there even if they dont want to but the money then do not complain about it, life isnt fair and its only good for the strong ones.[/citation]
You're a dick.

 

[conquerator]

I don't really care about their working conditions, I want my iphone, ipad, and macbook and i dont wan't them to raise prices if anything they should be working harder. If the Chinese government lets people exploit the shit out of their people, why should I care?

 

[xAlex79]

[citation][nom]therabiddeer[/nom]I dont get how this is "overworked" conditions. I work 60 hours a week in AMERICA, and frequently work 7 days a week. I get paid to do it and I often choose to do it. There are tons of people that work that many hours each week.Hell, especially in the tech industry, 40 hours a week is bordering on uncommon these days across the globe.[/citation]

That right here proves how much the corporations have taken from the average person. When people actually accept working 60 hours 7 days a week and think of it as "normal" or "needed".

Then again we are the ones giving the corporations all that power over our lives being the good little consumers that we are...

 

[azrealhk]

Foxconn does not only make Apple products.
But when a big company like Apple places a big order, gives a tight deadline, low profit margin, and high yield requirements, any company (not just in China) will need to use drastic measures or lose the bid.
this kind of labor is not a common as you think in China. Most manufacturers I am sure do not overwork their employees unless for no reason. I have been to a few manufacturing plants in China and they work shifts and change shifts on time.
I guess when you have a tight deadline, some bosses take shortcuts.
Apple must take a portion of the blame as well, and not pretend it is the fault of FoxConn only.

 

[A Bad Day]

[citation][nom]xAlex79[/nom]That right here proves how much the corporations have taken from the average person. When people actually accept working 60 hours 7 days a week and think of it as "normal" or "needed".Then again we are the ones giving the corporations all that power over our lives being the good little consumers that we are...[/citation]

You should take a tour of Caterpillar's production facility in Decatur, Illinois. Machinery workers have a tendency of doing only around 4 hours of work per day and waste the other four hours on excessive breaks.

First shift starts, workers waste about an hour milling around before starting their job, talking, getting coffee, etc. 60 minutes wasted.

Morning break, 15 minutes. It gets dragged into about 30 minutes. 15 minutes wasted.

Lunch at noon, 30 minutes. It starts 30 minutes early because most of the workers line up early. It gets dragged into about one hour. Total time wasted is around 60 minutes.

Afternoon break, 15 minutes. It gets dragged into about 30 minutes. 15 minutes wasted.

Around 2:30 PM, work slows overall because at 3 PM, second shift starts. Many of the machinery workers have a mentality of that whatever don't get finished will get picked up by the second shift workers. 30 minutes wasted.

Then let's not forget about frequent micro-breaks, consisting of coffee/bathroom breaks, conversations, and etc.

That's why my mom, an account at the facility, hates labor unions. She gets to crunch numbers and only take vacations when it's not busy, especially when the quarterly or yearly financial reports are due. A walk across the facility, and you have employees that are milling around.

And yet the labor union demands more pay, less hours, and etc.


Now head to West Lafayette, Indiana. The Caterpillar's production facility there is significantly more productive because workers have a different mentality. Work hard, so you can get want you want.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]frozonic[/nom]Lets be honest....who REALLY CARES about their working condintions? exactly, nobody other that themselves, if they are not happy with their work, they should just quit, and if the have to work in there even if they dont want to but the money then do not complain about it, life isnt fair and its only good for the strong ones.[/citation]
so long as they arent forced, i cant care less about them.
[citation][nom]zulutech[/nom]You're a dick.[/citation]
world sucks, sadly the best thing i can say is get use to it because its not changeing, world wide we are a docile people, and at least in education, you almost have to believe that its bad just to keep people dumb, and willing to put up with crap that someone who is well educated wouldnt.
[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]Embodies everything that is wrong with humanity.[/citation]
someone who sees the world for what is is bad?
[citation][nom]xAlex79[/nom]That right here proves how much the corporations have taken from the average person. When people actually accept working 60 hours 7 days a week and think of it as "normal" or "needed".Then again we are the ones giving the corporations all that power over our lives being the good little consumers that we are...[/citation]
at around 30$ an hour people i know work nearly that much, and they honestly need it, they dont have stupid amounts of debt, its just they need it to sustain a small house and small property.

 

[gwwerner]

That right here proves how much the corporations have taken from the average person. When people actually accept working 60 hours 7 days a week and think of it as "normal" or "needed".

The ability to work 40 hours a week and have more than enough money to cover the essentials is a relatively recent occurrence. Throughout much of history people have worked more than 60 hours a week just to eat and have a place to live. Nobody today has to work more than 40 hours a week. If your company wants you to work overtime and you don't want to, you can get a different job. Today people choose to work overtime because it enables them to have a nicer house, nicer cars, and more toys. It all depends on how much you value free time.

 

[Khimera2000]

[citation][nom]gwwerner[/nom]The ability to work 40 hours a week and have more than enough money to cover the essentials is a relatively recent occurrence. Throughout much of history people have worked more than 60 hours a week just to eat and have a place to live. Nobody today has to work more than 40 hours a week. If your company wants you to work overtime and you don't want to, you can get a different job. Today people choose to work overtime because it enables them to have a nicer house, nicer cars, and more toys. It all depends on how much you value free time.[/citation]

I remember reading "the Jungle" to, and I remember thinking that if we went back to a world like that a lot of people would be dying just like back then. Remember the radium girls? Just because it happened in the past does not mean its right. Some might not mind having fingers in there pickles, or knowing that someone had to die for there new Rolex, I personally do not want the US to laps back on that, and there's no way in #e!! that its acceptable any where knowing what it does.

 

[boiler1990]

[citation]Now head to West Lafayette, Indiana. The Caterpillar's production facility there is significantly more productive because workers have a different mentality. Work hard, so you can get want you want.[/citation]

Boiler Up!

 

[chindoboi]

[citation][nom]therabiddeer[/nom]I dont get how this is "overworked" conditions. I work 60 hours a week in AMERICA, and frequently work 7 days a week. I get paid to do it and I often choose to do it. There are tons of people that work that many hours each week.Hell, especially in the tech industry, 40 hours a week is bordering on uncommon these days across the globe.[/citation]

Here's the thing.... I dare you to do it for 2200RMB per month.

 

[Manos]

"Still, 64.3-percent of workers thought that their salary was not sufficient to cover their basic needs."

No shit, stop buying Apple products and you will have a savings account the week after...

 

[therabiddeer]

[citation][nom]chindoboi[/nom]Here's the thing.... I dare you to do it for 2200RMB per month.[/citation]
While the conversion from RMB to USD is not that great, you arent looking at the buying power of RMB inside of china.

While 10RMB is only about $1.58, you can buy 2 days of breakfast and 2 magazines. Bus fare is 1 RMB each way.

 

[_Cubase_]

[citation][nom]frozonic[/nom]Lets be honest....who REALLY CARES about their working condintions? exactly, nobody other that themselves, if they are not happy with their work, they should just quit, and if the have to work in there even if they dont want to but the money then do not complain about it, life isnt fair and its only good for the strong ones.[/citation]

Steve? Is that you?

 

[olaf]

let's stop hiding behind our fingers, how do you think they archive cheap labor there or anywhere else? long hours and low pay. however it is probably still a better job then most others. not everyone can get a high paying office job.

 

[kinggremlin]

[citation][nom]frozonic[/nom]Lets be honest....who REALLY CARES about their working condintions? exactly, nobody other that themselves, if they are not happy with their work, they should just quit, and if the have to work in there even if they dont want to but the money then do not complain about it, life isnt fair and its only good for the strong ones.[/citation]

You may have been rated down into oblivion, but you are right, at least for the first part. Despite what people here say, none of them give a crap about some poorly treated factory workers in China. Sure you are going to say you do, so don't appear to be a dick, but none of you are losing any sleep over this or actually doing anything of substance to help improve the working conditions for those workers. You say you care so long as you are not inconvenienced by actually having to help them or pay more for Apple products (which most of you already complain are too expensive) so they can make a higher wage.

I don't agree with the 2nd part of your post though. Very few people would be going to work no matter where they live if they didn't need money to buy the things necessary to stay alive. Just because you don't like the place you work, doesn't mean you can't just quit and find a better job somewhere else. That's just a stupid and unrealistic train of thought.

 

[Guest]

Working 60+ hr a week isn't what's wrong, it's breaking the law is what the problem is. If people can't stomach the thought of working 60+ hr weeks (I've done 100+ hr weeks plenty of times), then they shouldn't worry about what other people are doing.

If I were going to get paid by the hour and I could work extra hours (most of these employees 60+ hr weeks are voluntary), you bet I'd put in more hours for extra pay.

Again, it's the breaking the law part that is the problem.

 

[Guest]

" . . . watchdog group drilled over 35,000 anonymous Foxconn employees over the course of 3,000 hours."

wow one minute and 40 second interviews. that is some in-depth investigating.

 

[lockhrt999]

I once worked for 72 hours in 3days, without consuming any caffeine. Didn't sleep a bit. Only took launch/dinner and loo breaks. Next 7 days I was in bed fallen severely to illness.
Now that I've grown up I can only laugh at myself.

 

[dameon51]

[citation][nom]therabiddeer[/nom]I dont get how this is "overworked" conditions. I work 60 hours a week in AMERICA, and frequently work 7 days a week. I get paid to do it and I often choose to do it. There are tons of people that work that many hours each week.Hell, especially in the tech industry, 40 hours a week is bordering on uncommon these days across the globe.[/citation]

I agree. Tech industry, 60 hours is the norm. When you're in an entry level position the pay is pretty terrible too.

 

[zak_mckraken]

[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]
at around 30$ an hour people i know work nearly that much, and they honestly need it, they dont have stupid amounts of debt, its just they need it to sustain a small house and small property. [/citation]
30$/hour at 60 hours a week is almost $100K, which is 4 times above the poverty line for a family of 4 persons. Don't tell me they need that much money. Workers in chinese factories work that many hours, but at the equivalent of 1.20$/hour. THEY need that money.

 

[jabliese]

[citation][nom]looniam[/nom]" . . . watchdog group drilled over 35,000 anonymous Foxconn employees over the course of 3,000 hours."wow one minute and 40 second interviews. that is some in-depth investigating.[/citation]

"over the course of " I'm sure they were doing more than 1 employee interview concurrently.

 

[wiyosaya]

Another FAIL by crApple and fuxCON, and empty promises to fix it.