Foxconn Workers Express Concern Over Reduced Overtime

[brdeveloper]

According to your profile you are from Brazil. You have the highest government mandated paid vacation days of any nation at 41 days and you have to take at least 20 consecutive days to qualify with the law. You also (by law) have a maximum number of working hours per week at 44 not to exceed 8 hours per day. That work week is laughable to most people in the US. Your attitude is expected knowing what country you live in.

Sorry, I couldn't get your point.

Here in Brazil, worker's laws are very rigid but rarely followed by the companies. Usually they use subterfuges to bypass these regulations, e.g. forcing people to open an "individual company". This way, a worker is not a formal worker, but a 3rd-party service provider. Only the biggest companies suffer regular inspections by authorities.

My reality is far from being the standard in Brazil. I don't get a big salary but it's pretty enough because I'm not consumerist. I like inexpensive vacations, walking around my city, watching free public shows. I know most brazilians can't live like me, but if I had power to choose in what direction brazilians would live, I would choose to give them more time for enjoying life rather than working hard to have the latest SUV or having a 500-channel cable TV plan.

I'm sure most europeans think this way too. I prefer saving money along the years to have a gadget I really need than having money to buy every gadget every month at the expense of working harder.

 

[fruitycups]

Wirelessly posted

U over work them. They complain u dont. They complain wtf

 

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted

It is always unfortunate when people screw up others lives under the guise of helping them.

Wirelessly posted

Foxconn employees complain when a step is taken to make their working life less slave like.

If you need overtime to survive you have the wrong job or are living above your means.

You are being clueless.

 

[eyehop]

Working such long hours isn't sustainable. I bet the person quoted is about 18 years old. I can appreciate that the Chinese in general may have more of a work ethic than in people in the US are used to, but it is only the very young who can sustain 60 hours/mo. overtime. Reducing the overtime margin and increasing pay is in their best interest and that will become evident to them after five years on the job.

 

[lilsoccakid74]

Whats to say they wouldn't work the same hours anyway but? Offering them more money may not lead to the workers wanting to work less. If they are accustomed to those hours not only because they do them but because its the norm in their region, then they might want to keep working and just earn more.

Not that the employees earning more is a bad thing, but if the issue being addressed is work load then that may not in itself resolve it. Restricting the hours as they are doing could lead to them looking for ways to cheat the system or the taking up of a second job (if they can get one), irrespective of what the pay level is.

I was referring to compensation for the difference in pay basically. No human being should spent 12+ hours a day doing this, thats not living.

 

[brdeveloper]

They don't have commas in their mortgage, car payment, annual food costs, tuition, etc. either.

STOP ASSUMING THEIR COST OF LIVING IS THE SAME AS YOURS. <scream>

I can't believe their cost of living is too much lesser than mine or yours. A country with approx. the size of Brazil/USA, but less usable lands for farming and around 4.5x inhabitants in relation to USA and around 6.5x the brazilian population.

Maybe they don't have commas in their mortgage at the expense of living in a small, shared room in a Foxconn facility.

 

[kaplanreject]

Working such long hours isn't sustainable. I bet the person quoted is about 18 years old. I can appreciate that the Chinese in general may have more of a work ethic than in people in the US are used to, but it is only the very young who can sustain 60 hours/mo. overtime. Reducing the overtime margin and increasing pay is in their best interest and that will become evident to them after five years on the job.

I'm not old but I sure ain't no spring chicken. Been doing this for goin on 10 years and have not regretted a single moment other than the time away from home.

I guess some people just deal with things differnt.

 

[lilsoccakid74]

Prohibiting people from working who voluntarily want to work is simply evil.

They want money, not work.

 

[pgtruesdell]

Sorry, I couldn't get your point.

Here in Brazil, worker's laws are very rigid but rarely followed by the companies. Usually they use subterfuges to bypass these regulations, e.g. forcing people to open an "individual company". This way, a worker is not a formal worker, but a 3rd-party service provider. Only the biggest companies suffer regular inspections by authorities.

My reality is far from being the standard in Brazil. I don't get a big salary but it's pretty enough because I'm not consumerist. I like inexpensive vacations, walking around my city, watching free public shows. I know most brazilians can't live like me, but if I had power to choose in what direction brazilians would live, I would choose to give them more time for enjoying life rather than working hard to have the latest SUV or having a 500-channel cable TV plan.

I'm sure most europeans think this way too. I prefer saving money along the years to have a gadget I really need than having money to buy every gadget every month.

My point is your country has similar work laws to Greece, forcing the population to become lazy and dependent on the government. Preventing the rugged entrepreneurship that made the world what it is today. Making the richest even richer and keeping the poorest poor. My point is that I understand that you've been molded by the nation that you reside and I understand your position.

The desire to be bigger, better, faster, etc is what keeps the world moving. The world has moved faster in the past 200 years than countless millennia before that. It all didn't happen with people sitting still and happy with their lot in life, people went out and made something of themselves and that's my point. When government prevents people from doing what they want it hurts everyone eventually.

 

[kurosov]

Foxconn employees complain when a step is taken to make their working life less slave like.

If you need overtime to survive you have the wrong job or are living above your means.

You're right, Maybe they should just cull their family a little.

 

[chirpie]

Working such long hours isn't sustainable. I bet the person quoted is about 18 years old. I can appreciate that the Chinese in general may have more of a work ethic than in people in the US are used to, but it is only the very young who can sustain 60 hours/mo. overtime. Reducing the overtime margin and increasing pay is in their best interest and that will become evident to them after five years on the job.

A fair bit the of Chinese urban population also retire MUCH younger than here in the US as well. Think late 40's early 50's. I gotta say, it'd be easier to work more insane hours knowing that I get out of the system 2 decades sooner. ^_^;

 

[kaplanreject]

They want money, not work.

And I'm sure you work simply for the pure joy of working. Who doesn't work for money? More work = more money.

 

[kenwk]

Mike Daisy wants everyone to be just like him, work very little and get fat.....

 

[Limboistik]

A fair bit the of Chinese urban population also retire MUCH younger than here in the US as well. Think late 40's early 50's. I gotta say, it'd be easier to work more insane hours knowing that I get out of the system 2 decades sooner. ^_^;

What the hell are you talking about.
Yeah maybe in Suburban America.

 

[cwt1nospam]

People who actually have dignity and want to work rather than receive handouts?

Why do I still live in the US?

Because you don't want to be an economic slave. Or maybe you'd like to work for less than $2 an hour? If so, I have some work you can do.

 

[darkplanets]

People who actually have dignity and want to work rather than receive handouts?

Why do I still live in the US?

So true.

And I've said this before and I'll say it again: there's no workers rights violations if the workers WANT to work. Everyone criticizes Foxconn for its policies yet these workers WANT to work more (and people want to work there). Its by choice (and rather honorably)-- it's not some forced labor network. If people do not want to work there, they can work elsewhere in China-- while jobs are decreasing theyre in no way as strapped as the western world.

 

[brdeveloper]

My point is your country has similar work laws to Greece, forcing the population to become lazy and dependent on the government. Preventing the rugged entrepreneurship that made the world what it is today. Making the richest even richer and keeping the poorest poor. My point is that I understand that you've been molded by the nation that you reside and I understand your position.

The desire to be bigger, better, faster, etc is what keeps the world moving. The world has moved faster in the past 200 years than countless millennia before that. It all didn't happen with people sitting still and happy with their lot in life, people went out and made something of themselves and that's my point. When government prevents people from doing what they want it hurts everyone eventually.

You're basically explaining this model:
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/neoliberalism.html
To conclude, here are summaries of neoliberalism in two forms. First a list of key points in neoliberalism:
transaction maximalisation
maximalisation of volume of transactions ('global flows')
contract maximalisation
supplier/contractor maximalisation
conversion of most social acts into market transactions
artificial maximalisation of competition and stress
creation of quasi-markets
reduction of inter-transaction interval
maximalisation of parties to each transaction
maximalisation of reach and effect of each transaction
maximalisation of hire/fire transactions in the labour market (nominal turnover)
maximalisation of assessment factors, by which compliance with a contract is measured
reduction of the inter-assessment interval
creation of exaggerated or artificial assessment norms ('audit society')

No, no, thanks.

I prefer reducing the frequency of transactions allowing people to focusing on living rather than working.

 

[TallManNY]

If somebody wants to work, why not let them do it. It shouldn't be up to us to impose our standards on someone living in another country. We also seem to forget these are some of the most sought after jobs in China, there are much worse jobs paying a lot less but we don't seem to hear any fuss about this because Apple is not involved.

Personally I think we have a lot to learn from the work ethics of the rest of the world.

Actually, you are wrong. The American worker has historically been one of the most productive and hardest working workers in the world. You've heard of the phrase "Protestant Work Ethic", right? American's work very hard. They work longer hours and take less vacation than anyone else in the modern industrial world. Now in third world places there are peasants that sometimes have us beat. But those folks are motivated by a very real risk of starvation. The Foxcon folks might want to work some serious overtime. But they are a special case because they are living in dorms away from their families. They aren't doing this out of some fantastic work ethic, they are doing this because in the situation there are in, which isn't very nice, they would rather make more money than sit around in an unfurnished dorm or cafeteria for another couple of hours a day.

 

[Gasu E.]

I agree, I routinely work 80-98 hr/week when working on the road

And free meals, on-site medical, and a nice little airy room with a friendly roomate and your own toilet.

 

[pgtruesdell]

You're basically explaining this model:
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/neoliberalism.html


No, no, thanks.

Yes, exactly.

I can't argue with someone that is happy with government intervention and a Socialist/Marxist strangle on society. You sir have been brainwashed by your leaders and in return they have already won.

I want the government out of our lives and to let the people do what they please (within reason of course). Not the other way around.

 

[kaplanreject]

Because you don't want to be an economic slave. Or maybe you'd like to work for less than $2 an hour? If so, I have some work you can do.

You don't get it do you. These people are earning twice what the average person in there homeland does. Who cares what it is in US currency.

If everyone in the US made say..... 100k a year. And a company was hiring thousands if workers at 200k a year. How many people do you think would be beating down the doors to get a job there?

 

[pgtruesdell]

You don't get it do you. These people are earning twice what the average person in there homeland does. Who cares what it is in US currency.

If everyone in the US made say..... 100k a year. And a company was hiring thousands if workers at 200k a year. How many people do you think would be beating down the doors to get a job there?

Thousands and thousands. You can't argue with some people....

 

[MattG]

Silly. If the employee wants to work that much, and the company is willing to pay and not forcing them to work that many hours, then who cares?

 

[dr34mc4st3r]

thanks America, you always know what's best for the world

now those folks who wants to earn a bit more, are not allowed to do so. you cannot simply impose one country's standard directly on the other. there's too many variables at play.

 

[ablashek]

They aren't complaining about how much overtime they get, they are complaining about how much they get paid final.

Pay these people 1500$ a month, Apple should shrink its profits to acomodate the increase in salary, and then watch how happy those workers get!