[syadasti]

 

[sanjuro]

Wow, that is a revealing vid.

 

[syadasti]

Wow, that is a revealing vid.

More: Sacom » iSlave behind the iPhone: Foxconn Workers in Central China

iSlave behind the iPhone: Foxconn Workers in Central China

In May 2011, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) released a report, titled Foxconn and Apple Fail to Fulfill Promises: Predicaments of Workers after the Suicides[1], which documented the labour rights conditions at the Foxconn plant in Chengdu, China, a supplier of the iPad. Workers frequently endure excessive and forced overtime in order to gain a higher wage. If they cannot reach the production target, they have to skip dinner or work on unpaid overtime shifts. Even worse, they are threatened by potential harm from occupational diseases in various departments. Additionally, military-style management practices are still in place, characterized by “military training” for new workers. A month later, SACOM released its report, a short video clip, the Truth of the Apple iPad Behind Foxconn’s Lies[2], was launched to reveal the poor working conditions at the Foxconn factory in Chengdu. Four months on, SACOM has not heard any response from Apple. Likewise, after the explosion at Foxconn’s plant in Chengdu, which caused 3 deaths and 15 injuries, neither Apple nor Foxocnn has given any public account of the cause of the explosion. Furthermore, there is no transparency in either company’sprocess of implementing remedies after the tragedy. To keep up the pressure on Apple and Foxconn, SACOM has investigated another Apple supplier, Futaihua Precision Electronics (Zhengzhou) Company, the Foxconn’s subsidiary in Zhengzhou, which produces iPhones. Regrettably, the findings are equally as bad as those found in Chengdu.

The following is a summary of the findings:

Working on a construction site

- The construction work of the permanent factory in the Airport Zone is still in progress. The environment is messy. Dust flies around the campus on clear days, and flooding occurs when it rains.

Miscalculation and withholding wages

- Many interviewees are underpaid because of mistakes in the recording of working hours and attendance. Sometimes the workers receive a few hundred less than what they deserved. There are records of work stoppages even the workers have had full attendance.

- In order to retain workers after the Lunar New Year, Foxconn withheld part of the overtime premium of workers in January. Workers got back the deducted money only after unremitting complaints.

Forced and unpaid overtime

- Some workers have to work extra time on the production line till the production target is reached.

- “Comprehensive working hours” deprives overtime premium of workers.

- There are unpaid work meetings before and after work shifts.

Workers exposed to irritating chemicals

- Workers in the metal processing department are exposed to “unknown” chemicals that have irritating smell. There is no proper safety sign or illustration label at sight. The ventilation on the shop floor is poor. Some workers reported that they have headaches and suffer from skin allergies.

Harsh management

- Supervisors yell at workers with foul language. Workers experience pressure and humiliation. Workers are warned that they may be replaced by robots if they are not efficient enough.

- Apart from scolding by frontline supervisors, other forms of punishment include being required to write confession letters and copying the CEO’s quotations.

- A majority of workers have to stand for 10 hours during work shifts. There is no recess as promised by Foxconn. Some workers suffer from leg cramps after work.

- Workers have extra workloads or have to skip the second meal break under the arrangement of “continuous shifts”.

Dormitory under construction

- There are unreasonable prohibitions against activities such as washing clothes or using hair dryers in the dormitory.

- Water and electricity suspensions occur on regular basis in the dormitory.

Care hotline does not care

- The care hotline is either inaccessible or unhelpful. Many workers do not trust the hotline. Those who have called the hotline report either that it is a void number or that the complaints get back to their supervisors.

- A few respondents shared that there have been unconfirmed cases of strikes. According to them, the workers concerned were dismissed.

The full text of the report can be downloaded at http://sacom.hk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/20110924-islave-behind-the-iphone.pdf

 

[jimmydean]

So I should buy an iPhone AND an iPad so Apple can afford to make the conditions better?

 

[syadasti]

So I should buy an iPhone AND an iPad so Apple can afford to make the conditions better?

Apple has consistently failed to make any real effort to address labor or environmental concerns over the past decade. Apple could have done this from the start like Nokia has for years - they didn't need pressure from anyone. Apple moved their production over to Asia shortly after SJ came back to Apple. The profit margins were there to support responsible business practices. As experts have said Apple makes Walmart suppliers look good. Apple's contractors will move to more automation in Asia, not because they care but because its cheaper.

 

[IH8Rice]

at least your brought up something about apple in a thread about apple... and not a discussion that has nothing to do with the brand.
thanks for the laugh this morning

 

[zdubyadubya]

at least your brought up something about apple in a thread about apple... and not a discussion that has nothing to do with the brand.
thanks for the laugh this morning

heheh... just picked up a 4s this weekend. sickness.

 

[IH8Rice]

heheh... just picked up a 4s this weekend. sickness.

dont you know???? thousands were slaughtered so you can enjoy your phone!!!

 

[zdubyadubya]

dont you know???? thousands were slaughtered so you can enjoy your phone!!!

[firstworldproblems] unbearable privilege of being american middle class i s'pose [/firstworldproblems]

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

I love people get all up in arms over working conditions in China and how inhumane it is, yet you see things that occur on a daily basis over there that make you question whether or not they even have souls.

The video of the little girl getting run over by a truck and everyone walking/driving around her comes to mind.

 

[jimmydean]

I love people get all up in arms over working conditions in China and how inhumane it is, yet you see things that occur on a daily basis over there that make you question whether or not they even have souls.

The video of the little girl getting run over by a truck and everyone walking/driving around her comes to mind.

If she would have gotten hit by an iPad, it would have been 10x worse.

 

[Kevin]

iBlame humanity.
Apple shouldnt get all the credit here, people are just sick ****s in general.

 

[zdubyadubya]

*ahem* i s'pose this is the best place for this

Adobe abandons mobile flash

 

[jimmydean]

*ahem* i s'pose this is the best place for this

Adobe abandons mobile flash

I also heard in my interview today that Microsoft is killing Silverlight (thank gawd)

 

[IH8Rice]

*ahem* i s'pose this is the best place for this

Adobe abandons mobile flash

 

[zdubyadubya]

paging syadasti to the white courtesy iPhone

Greenpeace Green Electronics

Apple looks pretty good to me and Nokia doesn't appear to be all that much better.

 

[jonKranked]

*ahem* i s'pose this is the best place for this

Adobe abandons mobile flash

they're abandoning flash and focusing on the AIR platform.

 

[IH8Rice]

they're abandoning flash and focusing on the AIR platform.

and HTML5

 

[SkaredShtles]

Bring on the

 

[buildyourown]

Snagged a Xoom on Woot for $330 last night. Still up if anybody wants one.
Add this to the Kindle Fire my wife preordered and we should have a tablet showdown in our house next week. Xooms are all over ebay fo $400 so I figure I'll sell the lesser one and not lose any money.

Might just keep the xoom for a carputer since it has bluetooth.

 

[Whoops]

I love people get all up in arms over working conditions in China and how inhumane it is, yet you see things that occur on a daily basis over there that make you question whether or not they even have souls.

The video of the little girl getting run over by a truck and everyone walking/driving around her comes to mind.

...or the ~1500 people killed by hit and run drivers in the USA every year? Makes me wonder whether they even have souls...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,374321,00.html


-edit- but yeah, nah, that **** was whack.

 

[syadasti]

Most of the improvements in the various companies are in preparation for RoHS 2.0 required by law to sell products in the EU. Getting ready for the status quo is not leading - Nokia has been at the top for a long time both in environmental and labor standards.

Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS Directive Recast) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The original text was approved by the EU Parliament on November 24, 2010. However, the original text was not approved by the EU Commission in December of 2010. Additional changes were made to RoHS Recast in April of 2011. The new changes were approved by the EU Parliament, EU Council, and EU Commission in May of 2011. The new Directive will go into effect January 2 2013.

paging syadasti to the white courtesy iPhone

Greenpeace Green Electronics

Apple looks pretty good to me and Nokia doesn't appear to be all that much better.

 

[IH8Rice]

you must work for Nokia since they cant do wrong in your eyes.

 

[jonKranked]

as if we needed more evidence that RIM is out of touch:

RIM to forge ahead with Flash on the BlackBerry PlayBook, even if it's dead -- Engadget

 

[MMike]

Anyone see that iPads are now approved as Electronic flight bags for flight crews.....replacing charts and flight manuals etc.....they can shed 35 lbs of paper in favour of a 1 lb device.

 

[IH8Rice]

Anyone see that iPads are now approved as Electronic flight bags for flight crews.....replacing charts and flight manuals etc.....they can shed 35 lbs of paper in favour of a 1 lb device.

yeah, i remember seeing that a few months ago. its nice to save some weight but i think still having a hard copy might not be a bad idea. maybe keep it stashed aboard each plane.



im loving mine still. especially now that i found that Decline offers a lot of their issues digitally on the Ipad

 

[MMike]

http://www.verticalmag.com/news/articles/generation-ipad.html

 

[armada]

so i want another tablet and am trying to decide betwen ipad2 and the tab 10.1 does anybody have any time on both of them?

 

[syadasti]

so i want another tablet and am trying to decide betwen ipad2 and the tab 10.1 does anybody have any time on both of them?

Wait for the Tegra 3 pentacore (single core low power + quad core) tablets. Asus' just released the first one but there should be more shortly:

CNET Asus Transformer Prime Review

 

[armada]

cant wait, have to buy it before new year, something about tax evasion...

 

[syadasti]

cant wait, have to buy it before new year, something about tax evasion...

The first Asus Prime units are supposed to ship tomorrow, I don't know anything about the stock/demand.

 

[armada]

i come from a ****y EU country, and the newest transformer the dealer has in stock is the Asus slider bel...

 

[syadasti]

i come from a ****y EU country, and the newest transformer the dealer has in stock is the Asus slider bel...

Ipad2 will be better than the Tab with Honeycomb since iOS is more mature on tablets. If you can wait for Ice Cream Sandwich (you'll have to google to find the release date on Tab 10.1 in your country) the Samsung Tab is a better choice.

Also keep in mind the pricing and product support in your country, that can make the choice a lot easier.

 

[armada]

the 10.1 is available... so why is it better then the iPad 2? i own a few macs, ipod, ifones so i am a litle bit biased towards ipad... had a omnia, s1, and used the original tab for a short period of time and they all sucked... have the s2 and it works prety well so i realy cant decide... i have to say that along with this tablet i will stil keep my old android 2.3 tablet so i dont realy have problem that i have to go ios or android because of apps...

 

[syadasti]

I am talking about the official release date of an Ice Cream Sandwich OS update for the Samsung Tab 10.1

 

[armada]

if u buy the tab 10.1 cant u just update to ICS?

 

[syadasti]

if u buy the tab 10.1 cant u just update to ICS?

Not via an official Samsung update yet... They probably have third party alphas running on it by now but that's not usually the best option.

 

[IH8Rice]

so why is it better then the iPad 2?

youre still new here

 

[jdcamb]

I'm hoping I get a Ipad instead of ammo in my Baby Seal Carcass....

 

[MMike]

I'm hoping I get a Ipad instead of ammo in my Baby Seal Carcass....

I bet you just get seal guts....from a different seal.