Website China Jasmine Revolution reports via Watch China Times that around 300 employees of Foxconn threatened to commit suicide in Wuhan, China on January 2.
After being turned down over a raise request, they were reportedly told to quit with compensation or stay on board with no extra pay. Employees who quit under this pretense were not paid as promised, and it wasn't until 9:00pm on January 3 that they were talked down, eventually by the mayor of Wuhan.
Foxconn, as I hope most of you are aware, is involved with the production of many major electronics, including Apple devices and game consoles. You might recall stories about the installation of safety nets as a preventative measure against suicide attempts.
Indignant workers threaten suicide at Foxconn park in Wuhan [Watch China Times] [Image]
Report: Mass Suicide Threats at Xbox 360 Plant [UPDATE] [Kotaku]
Speaking to Kotaku, a Microsoft spokesperson had this to say:
"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."
It's shockingly easy to distance ourselves from the things we buy on a daily basis. Let this serve as a reminder that we as consumers should be more proactive in determining where products come from, no matter how unpleasant the findings may be.
Personally, I'm done giving multinational corporations the benefit of the doubt for not being vigilant when it comes to exploitative working conditions at factories they contract. The way forward is not going to be achieved by making excuses for these companies and this type of behavior.
Contest:
6:45 PM on 01.10.2012 | 
everytime I see you post that it makes me chuckle, thank you.
8.5% unemployment.Why cant we make iPods and Xbox here?
Because most of these workers make a 1.50 an hour, that would cut into the 1% profits making stuff here.
Ken Burns Presents
Beer, Video Games, & Porn: The American Experience
Is like that of peasants and kings
This is an ongoing issue. It's insane that the solutions Foxconn has employed to combat the suicide of its workers includes installing safety netting and having them sign no-suicide pledges. Little has been done to actually remedy the problem.
Yeah I seem to recall reading about the no-suicide pledges and all I could think was .... seriously if I was to the point where I was going to commit suicide. The fact that I signed a pledge saying I double pinky swear not to, isn't going to be even a remote deterrent.
Its really sad that the only real bargaining chip they have is the threat of suicide on mass. Even then probably only because of the negative PR it shines on Foxconn and their customers.
Second: "Let this serve as a reminder that we as consumers should be more proactive in determining where products come from, no matter how unpleasant the findings may be."
Statement feels very naive and fluffy. We don't have much of a say in any thing: We don't get to call when we get a game here, all on a companies whim (Read: Operation Rainfall). We don't really get that much say in our democracy (Read: SOPA, which works against people, gets considered at all). We also don't get much of a say about where our products get made, all because of the all mighty dollar, and the companies who want to make more of it.
It also doesn't help that people won't band together when they do feel like something is wrong and get turned away from doing anything by people who don't give a shit themselves. Things happen all the time in this industry that become normal just because people shrug at other people and call them whiny bitches because they care, or see, that the future would be complete crap if these things get to happen all the time -this, even about human lives, isn't really all that different.
Ultimately the Chinese government would have to change and there's very, very little other nations can do about that.
Some may wish to argue that this level of organization is extremely unlikely or even impossible, and that's an understandable, if cynical, argument. But to say "We don't have much of a say in anything" simply isn't true. We are Microsoft, Apple, et al.'s consumers. We won't, don't, or maybe even can't act on it, but we actually have the ultimate power over them. They can do whatever they want when they're making their product, but we can always just not buy it.
If the day ever comes when we as a demographic act on our convictions, you better believe we'll start seeing results.
If they indeed had "a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct", Foxconn would have been eliminated from their list long ago because this is only the latest depressing news about working conditions at that company.
The image of 300 people not just gathered in one spot, but also willing to kill themselves en masse is incredibly disturbing to me.
this sums it up nicely.
If everyone deflects personal responsibility and won't even take this first step, of course we aren't going to band together on a meaningful level. Raising awareness is the first of many steps.
But when it comes down to it, its our entire system that's flawed, not just big companies. To compete and stay alive, everyone have to do so in the marketplace. As long as the system is going strong, the working classes will always be screwed over.
This is no excuse for Foxconn's management, or their client's acceptance of what was described in the article, but the solution isn't black and white. There are likely few if any options for large scale manufacturing operations.
Since people are crying about a 250$ Vita with awesome hardware in it (so everyone can think for themselve under which conditions the workers producing these have to life) it will only get even worse.
If only the rich folks atop the tall buildings weren't playing a game to see who can get the most money and screwing over every single other person the planet to do it.
If only the world's goverments weren't in these fellows pockets, maybe then they would do something about it. What a sad world we live in.
Don't make me laugh. Europe was exactly the same 100 years ago, as china is now.
Besides, it's western companies that produce under such circumstances in the east. It's not the evil china for one, but our evil richpeople.
But funny guys like you sure as hell can go to work there. Have fun, with no weekends, holydays and only enough money to buy food...
Rather than lower profit margins slightly by producing the product at a higher cost (while attempting to maintain a similar sell price) and making up the lost profits by doing things like cutting their CEO's 1million dollar a year + stock + bonuses salary down to a reasonable level(and that is the LOW end of the CEO spectrum the AVERAGE CEO makes 11.4MILLION per year). Or reducing packaging costs (you ever seen all the extra package and high glossy boxes that iPods come in?) or just simply operating at a lower profit vs cost spread.
The fact is that this could be prevented and jobs in home countries in europe and america could be built if companies weren't as greedy as they are (wealth inequality in 2007 was almost equal to the inequality of 1929)
No...Let this serve as a reminder that it's our own damn fault for demanding that we pay rock bottom prices for products and that we're all entitled pricks who think we need to own a ton of stuff.
If there would be an extra yearly fee (or just higher prices on every electronic product) to pay to see to it that the people who make all of the nifty tech doodads through their labor not just through their label get a fair cut of it, how many would pay it(not that such a thing should be necessary to begin with)?
See also: Henry Ford.
it's not the so-called "1%" (as some have suggested) as much as it is us (pretty well anyone reading this site) wanting more for less.
THIS IS CHINA!!!!!!!
*trows himself off the company building*
:-(
>mfw al lot of products we have right now are being made by companies like these
It makes me sick that I rely on them for my entertainment, and I would have to forgo said entertainment if I really wanted to make them sweat. The pathetic part is most of the electronics - if made in America - would cost 5 times more.
I wish there was a simple answer to this, but Chinese business owners demonstrate again and again that they don't care about human rights. There's another French Revolution in the making, except there won't be one Robespierre in a country of 1.2 billion this time.