Foxconn Accused of Hiding Underage Workers During Audits

[bretm]

She's one of ABC's best looking interns. Living in Orange County, attending UC Irvine & working part time for ABC, the chance to accept an all expense paid trip to her homeland with the ABC crew, was more than she could pass up.

After a few hours in hair & makeup, she looked authentic doing her part. As many times as her picture has been posted in this thread, proves that Apple, Disney & ABC are a successful, brilliant team. It was quite a pleasant show

What ARE you talking about? That photo was found on someone's iPhone. It actually came out of the box with that picture in the camera roll. When the iPhone 3g first came out.

 

[Lennholm]

Of course. The investigation that disproves the conspiracy theory is itself a conspiracy theory.

You can always put on one more tin-foil hat.

One thing I like about Macrumors forum dwellers is how when someone is sceptical about something Apple claims they're always wearing a tin foil hat but when rumors appear about Google or MS doing something sneaky it's immediatly taken as fact and proof that Google and MS are evil.

Seriously, that "investigation" doesn't prove anything, if the rumors about the working conditions at Foxconn are true ofcourse they would hide it during the inspections. The only way we will ever be sure we get to see the true reality is if someone goes undercover and take a job as a regular employee at the assembly line.

 

[Kanunu]

iPhone girl

ABC should have asked to speak with iPhone Girl.

Image

Then the REAL truth would be revealed!

I can almost guarantee that she is at least 18. American men consistently underestimate the age of Asian females.

 

[MonkeyBrainz]

"Tokyo pose"? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Live up to what stereotype? I used to think by the quote in your signature that you were one of the rationalists. I'll need to re-evaluate what seems to have been a mistaken impression.

That irked me as well, but I felt I couldn't even dignify it with a response.

I can almost guarantee that she is at least 18. American men consistently underestimate the age of Asian females.

American men? Seriously? That's just as much a generalization as what lead you to comment. And she does look between 16-18.

 

[haruhiko]

When you find it, they are doing it. When you cannot find it, they are hiding it. Wow that's so freaking fair. Just like the (vapor) weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

 

[alephnull12]

APPLE should begin making their products in the USA and China.

APPLE should use some of their 80 billion in cash stores and help the USA by investing in production of microchips, hardware and their own products.

Would it be a bit more costly to produce here in the USA? Sure.

But maybe by making a bit less in profits per item is worth the price in producing USA jobs and securing the production of electronic components our world society is beginning to be more reliant on each and every day

Why would they do this?

So they can subject themselves to extra litigation from American labor unions, feckless US regulators and environmentalists?

 

[mrxak]

"Underage" implies under legal age. The legal minimum age to work in China is 16, so 16-17 year old workers are not underage.

Where I grew up, in Massachusetts, I could (and did) get a job at 14, though I believe certain kinds of employment require you to be age 16. So, even by our own American standards, 16-17 year old Chinese workers aren't underage.

 

[kiljoy616]

Anyone have the stats on unemployment in china. Always makes me wonder how do 1.2 billion plus people find employment.

Oh my the little tikes are working how dare they after all they should be getting ready for college... really do American's think the world is in such a good shape. :roll eyes:

So now I can say little "virgin" girls where instrumental in building my iPad and not sound really, really creepy.

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I started working when I was 15, 10-20 hrs a week after school. What is the big deal?

I started working about the same time and joined the Mil at 17. Its all make believe stuff to keep the middle class happy till they all go away. Rich don't care, and poor need the money, so the only ones that must have issue with this is the utopian thumping middle class. Just make sure they get paid the same and its all gravy after that. Did I say 1.2 billion people...

 

[jackc]

But maybe by making a bit less in profits per item is worth the price in producing USA jobs and securing the production of electronic components our world society is beginning to be more reliant on each and every day

If Apple was in the business of creating jobs, they could hire people to dig holes with spoons.

You are welcome to start that business. Don't you care about jobs?

 

[kiljoy616]

If Apple was in the business of creating jobs, they could hire people to dig holes with spoons.

You are welcome to start that business. Don't you care about jobs?

Oh now that was priceless, please don't stop you just made my day. I nominate you for my besttest friend for life with that statement.

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When you find it, they are doing it. When you cannot find it, they are hiding it. Wow that's so freaking fair. Just like the (vapor) weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Does anyone wonder why Crazy Iran is making nukes or should be. Ok taking bid on how long we take to start something with them? Any bids?

 

[meatballs]

Who cares!? As long as Apple don't hike up the price on the iPad 3, amirite?

 

[h00ligan]

That irked me as well, but I felt I couldn't even dignify it with a response.




American men? Seriously? That's just as much a generalization as what lead you to comment. And she does look between 16-18.

Asian women look younger than they are in general. Of course it's a generalization. It's also not racist. I look 10 years older than my gf and we are the same age.


Labor unions are what killed the USA

 

[powers74]

Wow. Cry me a river.
When I was 16-17 I often worked in Apple orchards 14 hrs. a day.

Here in Amerika.

I started working when I was 15, 10-20 hrs a week after school. What is the big deal?

I recall being 14-15 and working as a janitor during the summer. Here in America...

I was thinking the same thing. I was working my ass off at 15-16. What are we turning in to, France?

Yeah sadly US labor laws limit the amount of work a child under 18 can work the time they are a changin'

I guess so.

 

[nickgri]

30 million

Do the math again, you may have forgotten to carry a zero, it is more like $30 million for 10,000 workers.

Yes that was a typo but the fact is $30 million would not hurt Apple badly at all and yet vastly improve these peoples lives.

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Wow. Cool. So are the workers going to obtain the financing to build that factory they work in, put in their life savings, go into debt with huge loan payments, develop or buy all the tooling, buy the raw materials, hustle up the clients willing to pay for what you say you can do, fund the salaries and raises for all the other employees, pay for the benefits, pay for the liability insurance, pay for medical, etc. Let's just say that's very, very rare anywhere on the planet.

So, no you still really don't understand capitalism. I'm guessing you're less than 30, because everyone is a socialist when they're young. After a while, you begin to understand how life works and you see that capitalism is the way to go.

Actually NO I am 60 and I have seen the effects of workers dutifully doing their best for over thirty years at factories every day sometimes sick and then get thrown into the fires by corporate greed that just treats them like numbers and not humans or family. I have seen them be laid off just before reaching retirement age-seen them lose benefits they acquired for all those years and much more than you sonny. Those workers yes could get the loans and take the risks and own that company-and no it's not rare we have thousands of companies right here in the USA that are employee owned and ask any one of their workers which they prefer!

 

[h00ligan]

To view the effects of socialism one need look only at chinas working conditions and standard of living. Or bread lines in the former ussr

 

[nickgri]

Bread lines

To view the effects of socialism one need look only at chinas working conditions and standard of living. Or bread lines in the former ussr

We have lines of thousands in the unemployment offices right now. We have millions without health insurance. We have millions living in poverty. Oh capitalism is SO much better!

 

[h00ligan]

We have lines of thousands in the unemployment offices right now. We have millions without health insurance. We have millions living in poverty. Oh capitalism is SO much better!

We don't have capitalism.

 

[gnasher729]

Yes that was a typo but the fact is $30 million would not hurt Apple badly at all and yet vastly improve these peoples lives.

We are up from 3 million to 30 million. Now we can consider that there are not 10,000 people working on Apple products, but about 240,000 or so, which makes it 700 million. That's 240,000 people who are not Apple's responsibility in the first place, but Foxconn's. But now comes the bummer: There are 800,000 Foxconn employees who don't build Apple products. What about them?

 

[Can't Stop]

One thing I like about Macrumors forum dwellers is how when someone is sceptical about something Apple claims they're always wearing a tin foil hat but when rumors appear about Google or MS doing something sneaky it's immediatly taken as fact and proof that Google and MS are evil.

Seriously, that "investigation" doesn't prove anything, if the rumors about the working conditions at Foxconn are true ofcourse they would hide it during the inspections. The only way we will ever be sure we get to see the true reality is if someone goes undercover and take a job as a regular employee at the assembly line.

I mostly agree, but isn't Google really evil? It's a search and ad company that by definition means it's f'ed up.

 

[nickgri]

The rest of the story

We are up from 3 million to 30 million. Now we can consider that there are not 10,000 people working on Apple products, but about 240,000 or so, which makes it 700 million. That's 240,000 people who are not Apple's responsibility in the first place, but Foxconn's. But now comes the bummer: There are 800,000 Foxconn employees who don't build Apple products. What about them?

What about them-they too should get together and own the plant themselves and pay themselves-is that not communism or socialism.

Apple has many billions in extra cash on hand-good for them-give up a few to the people who made that for them-not the greedy corporate heads and Wall St. investors.

 

[h00ligan]

What about them-they too should get together and own the plant themselves and pay themselves-is that not communism or socialism.

Apple has many billions in extra cash on hand-good for them-give up a few to the people who made that for them-not the greedy corporate heads and Wall St. investors.

Stop buying apple.

Let's not forget that without investment there would be no jobs in china from apple at all.

If you are really bothered. You should send a dollar to Chinese workers for every dollar of a product you get involving Chinese workers. If apple should give their profits. You should be willing to send a dollar for every dollar you spend buying Chinese made goods.

Why should apple shoulder it. If you are that concerned. Start allocating double for every purchase and start a fund.

 

[cameronjpu]

Yes that was a typo but the fact is $30 million would not hurt Apple badly at all and yet vastly improve these peoples lives.

$100 would not hurt you badly at all but it would help that bum's life. Why don't you give the bum $100? Oh, because it's your money and you worked hard for it? Don't like someone telling you how to spend your money?

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We have lines of thousands in the unemployment offices right now. We have millions without health insurance. We have millions living in poverty. Oh capitalism is SO much better!

What we have is not capitalism.

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What about them-they too should get together and own the plant themselves and pay themselves-is that not communism or socialism.

No, that's capitalism, and that's what already happened. The people who founded Foxconn did just that, and then they, out of the goodness of their tiny hearts, hired workers who wanted to earn a wage to build whatever it was Foxconn wanted them to build. It's a beautiful thing.

They are all free to do exactly what you just said. But for some reason they don't! Perhaps its because you haven't forced them to do it yet?

You're really into forcing people to do what they don't want to do on their own. Do the people close to you appreciate how little you value their ability to make their own life-choices?

Apple has many billions in extra cash on hand-good for them-give up a few to the people who made that for them-not the greedy corporate heads and Wall St. investors.

You'd fit in just fine in government. Are you a politician? I bet lots of people out there would say that you have plenty of extra cash on hand, why aren't you giving it away to them?

 

[donniedarko]

Stop buying apple.

Let's not forget that without investment there would be no jobs in china from apple at all.

If you are really bothered. You should send a dollar to Chinese workers for every dollar of a product you get involving Chinese workers. If apple should give their profits. You should be willing to send a dollar for every dollar you spend buying Chinese made goods.

Why should apple shoulder it. If you are that concerned. Start allocating double for every purchase and start a fund.

I dont want to. You quit using Apple... and if you are youre hippocrit and need to pipe down. The worlds sucks. People get ruined. Your lucky like I am and we are. You live here in the US or any westernaized country we have come out on top. Were on top of the scale. I save my moral scruples for how I treat others face to face. I'm not taking a penitent oath because youre judging some other cultures work ethic and pay scale and saying its wrong. What should I starve because fate had me grow up in the US and bless me with the life I have. If I spent all my time evaluating the repercussions of everything I bought Id shoot myself. You like coffee? You seen how the people that pick and grow it. You like vegetables, bet you bought strawberry's they grow most of them north of where I live in Cali. Should see how lame those poor bastards are treated. You make your own choice Ill make mine what I support. The last thing I want is the whole sanctamonious deal from you or anyone else. If you want to preach about Apple then better preach about all of the horrors in the world.

 

[h00ligan]

I dont want to. You quit using Apple... and if you are youre hippocrit and need to pipe down. The worlds sucks. People get ruined. Your lucky like I am and we are. You live here in the US or any westernaized country we have come out on top. Were on top of the scale. I save my moral scruples for how I treat others face to face. I'm not taking a penitent oath because youre judging some other cultures work ethic and pay scale and saying its wrong. What should I starve because fate had me grow up in the US and bless me with the life I have. If I spent all my time evaluating the repercussions of everything I bought Id shoot myself. You like coffee? You seen how the people that pick and grow it. You like vegetables, bet you bought strawberry's they grow most of them north of where I live in Cali. Should see how lame those poor bastards are treated. You make your own choice Ill make mine what I support. The last thing I want is the whole sanctamonious deal from you or anyone else. If you want to preach about Apple then better preach about all of the horrors in the world.

You're preaching to the choir, I think you got confused.

 

[donniedarko]

You're preaching to the choir, I think you got confused.

Aaaahhh I think I just got your context, and yes frequently confused... Ill step off the soapbox. All good