Apple's Sweatshop Factory

[Revelation78]

The wages in Ireland are generally not lower than England. In both cases it depends what you work at! The standard of living in Ireland is higher than most other countries in Europe.
In Dublin for example, the average wage is higher than say.. Spain. This is because the rent is higher and and it needs to balance.
In Belfast the wages are a little lower than England, but this is because the cost of living and rent is lower than England.
Typical American, open you mouth and think later. I get offended when Americans think they know it all about other countries, particularly Ireland. Take a look at you own countries state at the minute.
30k equivalent to 100k here.....what a joke.
I am Irish and don't know any alcoholics....perhaps we judge less or dont panic if someone has more than 5 drinks on a night or hand out pills for every little thing in life.
But as usual, the American thinks they know best, the truth is we look at you as being rude and dumb. Rememeber that next time you enter an Irish pub!
What rubbish! Take an economics lesson!

Actually I think you took offence to his comments way more than anyone else would have. Are you just upset an "American" made a comment? He stated that one would need to make more money in Ireland to live comfortably than in the US - how's that offensive; obviously it's based on the cost, or standard, of living of the area.

In fact there are places in the US where one can live VERY comfortably off of $25-30k per year. Where I live you need to make at least $65k to live comfortably. You also need to understand what one's interpretation of "living comfortably" is; his "comfortably" could easily be different from yours.

When I visited Ireland a few years back, there was enough drinking going on; maybe you view drinking differently and thats fine. Don't jump down the guy's throat because he made post about HIS observations while in country. I personally think folks from the UK and Australia drink way more from my time in both of those countries - not to mention Germans. I was amazed at the ability of others to drink me under the table.

Your other points about the US and it's views of drinking and pills, I whole-heartidle agree with you. That's the damn Liberal Politicians getting there way - I always vote for the "other guy."

 

[whooleytoo]

Maybe if Americans and everyone else would pay more money for products workers wouldn't get screwed like this. Go find WalMart's sweat shops.

I don't think it would make much difference - if consumers paid more for products, the companies would keep making them as cheaply as possible, and just pocketing a bigger margin.

Consumers will generally buy the cheapest product (all else being equal), even if not buying from their own country hurts their economy.
Companies will outsource manufacturing to countries with low wages, even if it damages their own economy and could hurt product quality.
Manufacturers will pay often pay minimal wages and in poor conditions, anything to be competitive, even if it means a poorly motivated and antagonised workforce.

Everyone is just taking care of themselves, sadly. That's the way it tends to work..

 

[Block]

Edit: Going to avoid arguments.

 

[b166er]

http://gizmodo.com/5542527/undercover-report-from-foxconns-hell-factory

The world has more or less always functioned this way. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[Tee Hee]

Either pick cheap affordable products or pick fair labor. We all sit here cozy with our pretty decent livings and criticize other countries for not living up to our moral standards, and expect these countries to just go off and change their ways. Sure China as A STATE is not a 3rd world country, but a good sum of the population live in a 3rd world way. This kind of labor does keep people off the streets, and these jobs are actually in pretty high demand over there. None of the workers speak out(or in large enough numbers) because the government CAN still get away with cheap labor because the demand for these kinds of jobs still exist. Making workers VERY VERY expendable. These jobs are unfair and they do shackle workers to the job site, but they get food and a place to stay. It isn't much of a life, but they really don't have any other options. When and if the demand for these jobs drop due to more and more companies expanding and setting up sites out of their home country then maybe the workers can demand more fair terms and maybe have a workers revolution or something.

There's always going to be cheap labor though regardless. Hell the US and Europe had it during the industrial revolution. It was only through workers fighting back did things change, and they didn't change fast...

Honestly probably everything you own is made with cheap labor. Maybe not the product but parts/components of it. You REALLY REALLY REALLY have to go out of your way to get products not made from cheap labor.

 

[Jayman34187]

Anything to save a buck eg steve?

 

[Stein357]

Unfortunately the average American consumer isn't willing to pay higher prices for products made in America, or in first world countries for the most part (the Wal-Mart effect), so these factories that produce just about everything Americans buy are a fact of life until the American public wakes up and realizes that we became a great country because of our manufacturing base, and people adjust accordingly.

 

[Statusnone88]

I've read very few of the posts but that Gizmodo article was the biggest peice of bias crap ive ever seen in my life.


Someones a little sore at Apple. See you at the next house raid, Gizzy.

 

[marksman]

Don't read stuff on Gizmodo. They suck and nothing they say or write can be trusted, on any subject.



(Well except their own law breaking activities... you can take their word on that)

 

[ikaveh]

this is sad and sadder is Jobs' justification for the Foxconn's condition (sth like there is no problem with the antenna).
I remember him and Bill Gates being interviewed and Jobs saying ": I think the world’s a better place because Bill realized that his goal isn’t to be the richest guy in the cemetery, right? That’s a good thing and so he’s doing a lot of good with the money that he made."
and look at him now.

 

[entatlrg]

Great example of don't beleive everything you read.

Anyone else with "real" Foxconn / Shenzhen area info please chime in ...

Something isn't right here ...

Odd that Gizmodo is the one to pick up the story too. I'm not saying a Chinese reporter didn't go undercover but something REALLY isn't right here.

I have enough knowledge about Foxconn's factory near Shenzhen to make a responsible comment on the article.

The first thing I was going to point out is that Foxconn DOES indeed have movie theaters, exercise facilities, games rooms, shops, health care and much more for their workers *long before* suicides there became news. The average Chinese worker has none of the above.

It's simply untrue in the last paragraph were this reporter who claims to have worked there 28 days to write this:

Perhaps the 100 counselors hired by Foxconn will help. I wish they had movie theaters and shopping malls inside to help them relax. But, at the end, the most important thing is that Foxconn really needs to be more human and be concerned about the health—mental and physical—of their workers, instead of treating them like dogs.

Treating them like dogs? It's the dream and goal of many young Chinese people to get a job at Foxconn.

The job is boring, really really really boring, some people think that's why a small percentage of staff have committed or attempted suicide.

Another reason is Life Insurance. Each Foxconn employee has life insurance, a small percentage of workers attempt suicide to benefit their poor family back home.

This article is the result of a Apple being on the hit list. If you could only imagine the real conditions many Chinese workers are exposed to you'd be sick.....

Mold makers stand right INSIDE mold making equipment to produce molds, some people working with chemicals in the glass and metal industry have a life expectancy of 10 years or less.

Ten's of thousands of factory's have dirt floors, 120 degree heat, no air conditioning, no fans, nothing.

The working conditions in most of China are worse than many could imagine, sure Foxconn is not the best but WOW to think this article is written by someone to expose the working conditions of the average Foxconn worker, or to stick up for the working conditions of the Chinese worker is to fool yourself.

If that was the case there are hundreds of thousands of other factories where reporters should be doing under cover work.

What should be investigated?
A company the size and population of a city with a suicide rate lower than an average city, paying more than the country's average national wage with benefits that very likely ranks within the top 20% in working conditions across the country ....
OR
the thousands of dirt floor factorys found everywhere were you work for food and if you go too slow you're sorely punished.

What a wreck of an article, Gizmodo you're involved somehow - you suck.

 

[ddavid]

Lemme get this straight, Apple hires a company to produce some of its products and that company, being in another country and subject to their laws and standards, has employees who are unhappy and a couple commit suicide. Other than finding another supplier, how is Apple in any way involved in or responsible for the actions by a company in China that is presumably in compliance with the their laws and regulations?

Isn't this the same as hiring a landscaping company and being responsible for the wages they pay the weed-whacker guy.

 

[marksman]

I like how one of the knocks is that working there is boring.

Hello, 99.999% of all jobs in the world are boring. LOL.

 

[ikaveh]

Lemme get this straight, Apple hires a company to produce some of its products and that company, being in another country and subject to their laws and standards, has employees who are unhappy and a couple commit suicide. Other than finding another supplier, how is Apple in any way involved in or responsible for the actions by a company in China that is presumably in compliance with the their laws and regulations?

Isn't this the same as hiring a landscaping company and being responsible for the wages they pay the weed-whacker guy.

if that is true, then why did jobs try to justify that and also say they are trying to make better entertainments in there?

I like how one of the knocks is that working there is boring.

Hello, 99.999% of all jobs in the world are boring. LOL.

Hi, did you notice their salaries begin at 130$/month and their jobs include 8 houres standing every day?
I would probably earn more than 130 for just peeing? (kidding this part)

 

[chrono1081]

Lemme get this straight, Apple hires a company to produce some of its products and that company, being in another country and subject to their laws and standards, has employees who are unhappy and a couple commit suicide. Other than finding another supplier, how is Apple in any way involved in or responsible for the actions by a company in China that is presumably in compliance with the their laws and regulations?

Isn't this the same as hiring a landscaping company and being responsible for the wages they pay the weed-whacker guy.

People think its apples fault because those people are stupid and know nothing about the electronics industry. Really. Foxconn is a HUGE company and not one person has an electronic in their house that doesn't have a Foxconn component inside. Yet the dumb uneducated people simply want to hate Apple and blame them because on Mac rumors there are more trolls then mac fans.