iPod sweat-shop accusation
p2p news / p2pnet: A Taiwan maker of Apple’s nano music player is running sweat-shops in mainland China, says Britain’s Mail on Sunday.
Apple is investigating the report, which says staff in some of its Chinese iPod factories work in "slave" conditions, says the BBC
A story in the Mail on Sunday’s print edition, quoted by TechWeb.com, said the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, "better known by its Foxconn brand," pays workers at a Longhua, China, plant only £27 ($50) a month, "about half what another electronics maker pays its workers who assemble other iPods".
The workers are, "mostly young women from rural areas of China," says TechWeb.com. They labour in, "15-hour shifts, are housed in dormitories from which outsiders are banned, and regularly pay about half their wages for room and board charges, the Mail said."
Apple says it’s, "committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible," states the BBC.
On its web site, Foxcomm says it has R&D centers in the US and Japan, as well as production facilities in and the US, UK, Scotland and Ireland and in 1999, "established SMT Production facilities Houston, United States, Foxconn eMS Inc".
In 2005, "Foxconn generated revenues of US$27.3 billion, up 62% from US$16.8 billion the previous year," says Simmtester.com.
Digg this story.
Also See:
BBC – iPod ’slave’ claims investigated, June 14, 2006
TechWeb.com – Apple Looks Into iPod ‘Sweatshop’ Charges, June 14, 2006
Simmtester.com – Foxconn beats Flextronics as world’s largest EMS provider in 2005, May 30, 2006
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June 16th, 2006 at 12:08 am
I wonder if they’re paid more than workers in the Nike sweatshops?
August 27th, 2006 at 8:07 am
1)the workers in foxconn are required to work for more than 128 extra hours a month (according to government’s rules, 36 extra hours are upper limit). foxconn violate this rule.
2)according to government’s rules, the overwork time should be double paid. but foxconn did violate this rule.