Katie MarsalAccording to China Daily, factory workers last week damaged equipment and vehicles in response to a number of alleged deaths from overexposure to toxic chemicals. Employees said they did not accept the local government's investigation into the matter. Bloomberg reported that the factory is a component supplier for the iPhone.
On Friday, workers gathered in the morning and caused damage at the Suzhou Industrial Park. They also blocked off a road and threw rocks at police, though no casualties were reported.
Various reports said that the workers were reacting to rumors of a canceled 2009 bonus, but one worker told China Daily the matter was not solely about money.
"What we feel angry about is the company authorities' apathy to our workers' health," said a worker named Zhu. He also added that employees have been overworked and underpaid.
Employees said there was a strong smell at the factory that they believe caused the deaths of four workers. One man, Li Liang, was found to have died of congenital heart disease — a diagnosis his co-workers do not believe.
The employees believe the deaths are attributed to an overexposure to hexane, a toxic chemical used to clean touchscreen panels at the factory. Hexane can cause nervous system failure in humans.
Apple's overseas manufacturing partners have been the subject of much scrutiny over the years. Last July, an audit of Apple's partners in mainland China found that 45 of 83 factories that built iPhones and iPods in 2008 weren't paying valid overtime rates for those workers that qualified. In addition, 23 of those factories weren't even paying some of their workers China's minimum wage.
Last summer, Apple and manufacturing partner Foxconn made headlines after an alleged prototype 4G iPhone went missing from one of the company's factories. After an employee was questioned about the matter, he reportedly committed suicide.
In 2006, Apple audited Foxconn over the working conditions at its Chinese factories, after reports surfaced in a British newspaper about poor working conditions. The Cupertino, Calif., company issued a report on iPod manufacturing, which found no instances of forced overtime, but did find that some employees worked longer than the 60-hour weekly maximum.
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71 Comments
I did not even know China cared about it's people...
And they have a minimum wage?
And they have audits? I thought all the companies were owned by the government.
I did not even know China cared about it's people...
And they have a minimum wage?
And they have audits? I thought all the companies were owned by the government.
Yes, yes and no.
China is really only a socialist state in name only. It's actually more comparable to the Great Britain during the first industrial revolution, with a non-democratic government thrown into the mix (Fortunately, the government is a lot more benevolent nowadays).
Guess the Chinese government couldn't hack into Cupertino's computers and steal their IP like they did to Google and 30 or more other American companies using Internet Exploder.
So they make Apple sell outrageously expensive wifi-less iPhones and set up poor working conditions for riots at Apple's primary manufacturers.
And I'm willing to bet the mole who stole the prototype iPhone was working for the Chinese government and his murder was made to look like a suicide so he wouldn't talk.
Well, Chinese workers are finally seeing the light and rebelling like American workers did a century or so ago.
Hopefully they'll fight for pay and health & environmental improvements, raising the cost of doing business (but also protecting people and the environment) and creating a more level playing field for global workers.
And then businesses will move their factories to the next cheapest place they can exploit workers.
Historically you always get this tension between labour and capital, where capital wants to pay less and labour want more.
Still, bit of a worry if there's chemicals that can't be better managed with exhaust flues or perhaps the use of robots to handle that part of the production process.
Hope the management is able to work to arbitrate and keep people safe, but still with lots of work.
I disagree with strikes due to crazy wage claims often (you know where prices might go up 3% but wage demands of 26% are made) but at the end of the day all most people really want is fairness and to go home safe at night.