It is scary that you don't. Why would it be Apple fault. FOXCONN employees are not Apple employees. Hence why the post starts with FOXCONN employees
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Foxconn Workers Reportedly Strike over iPhone 5 Quality Control Demands
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It is scary that you don't. Why would it be Apple fault. FOXCONN employees are not Apple employees. Hence why the post starts with FOXCONN employees
Guarding beating workers?
we have to see what is going on, do not judge them quickly...
the rumor was the Guards beating the workers. you and I we would work in that scenario
really there is something going on.
We should be concerned about the people beaten by the guard than the few phones beaten by few culprit workers.
we have to see what is going on, do not judge them quickly...
the rumor was the Guards beating the workers. you and I we would work in that scenario
really there is something going on.
We should be concerned about the people beaten by the guard than the few phones beaten by few culprit workers.
The coating on the iPhone5s are not particularly scratch resistant so it is not really surprising that many will get scratched on the assembly line. So obviously customer complains to Apple and Apple complains to Foxconn. Foxconn probably puts in some quality standard that is hard to meet with their current assembly procedure and the workers get pissed...
I suppose this is Apple's fault/problem, right?
No, they're busy being doomed because their iPhone 5 is not round enough.
I'm confused. Phil Schiller told us that scratches and chips are normal when dealing with a phone that is painted aluminum
I think you know he was talking about normal anodizing coating, which will scratch and rub off in the long run, not iPhones with defective anodizing coating that the factory workers have so nicely allowed to slip past QC.
I bet Apple didn't know and those workers and/or their supervisors screwed them by allowing predamaged iPhones to slip past QC just to meet the increased demand under a time gun.
Mistreated? How about they're mistreating us by allowing those obviously damaged iPhones to slip past QC, leaving us as customers to return them to get non-damaged replacements?
Facilities could be built and workers hired but yes it would be an exercise in public relations at best. You still need factories in China and Brazil.
You don't need unions to do that. Truth is, unions barely represent the intentions of the workers and are often political machines. They often act in contradiction of the wishes of the members and undermine the workers chances of success by destroying said industry through unrealistic demands.
You need not look any further than the US steel industry, which collapsed long before China started dumping. If the company you work for can't compete, you're out of a job. Which would you rather have? Currently school teachers are shooting themselves in the foot -- there's been local demands for higher wages amid one of the tightest fiscal budgets yet for school districts. Sounds perfectly logical.
Minor labor issues can be fixed by passing labor laws. Minimum wage. Mandatory food/bathroom breaks. Restricted work hours for minors, overtime regulations for adults. It's not rocket science. You don't some quasi political organization "acting in your best interests".
Also for the $2/hr comment -- keep in mind that the cost of living over there is quite varied by region and is nothing like here. Foxconn workers do far better wage wise than some other workers in China.
I think they are a big deal considering the amount of money we pay for the iPhone. However, we shouldn't blame the workers for them (and I don't think anyone really does). These issues should be solved at the engineering stage.
Move the factories out of China to India, Vietnam, Brazil, Taiwan, Korea, or USA.
if the workers are beaten and threaten; it does not solve this issue
India had worker uprising too. I think it just the too much demand put by the company foxconn for the workers to deliver in time and deliver 100% defect free.
one guy was invited to a german show just recently and i cant recall exactly but he mentioned that the shift starts at 5am and that they r working overtime by like 5 hours each day because there r only 2 shifts and make about 30 Euro (per months i think)
they work in groups of like 10 people plus 2 guys on their back watching them closely.
they sleep in rooms of up to 12 people in stock beds and its work sleep work basically
they r like henns ...
I think it's sad and pathetic that many people complain about QC issues on the new iPhone, cosmetic wise, when it covers 1/1000th of the actual surface of the phone.
The reality is that these workers are overworked and stressed out. I'd probably strike as well if I lived in those conditions. Some people need to realize how lucky and fortunate we are to have full time jobs and have the spare cash to even afford a luxury item like an iPhone.
Seriously please, get over yourselves. I wish the best for these Foxconn workers.
The reality is that these workers are overworked and stressed out. I'd probably strike as well if I lived in those conditions. Some people need to realize how lucky and fortunate we are to have full time jobs and have the spare cash to even afford a luxury item like an iPhone.
Seriously please, get over yourselves. I wish the best for these Foxconn workers.
It's good to know they're raising QC
I have mine due in 3-4 weeks and it's good to know that it will not have a faulty anodizing
I have mine due in 3-4 weeks and it's good to know that it will not have a faulty anodizing
What an incredibly sadistic, uncaring comment. Those workers don't just do iPhones, you know.
they also do iPads and iPods! Don't forget about the late shipping on them as well!
Ugly but True
This is sad but true....and not to mention we're talking about a country that has a human rights record thats terrible at best. Might be better in recent years, or covered up better, but its still pretty bad. Much of this is cultural.
Honestly this has nothing to do with Apple. Foxconn and the upper management is the issue. Apple pays Foxconn x amount of dollars to make said product. Foxconn finds the cheapest labor in the world and puts them to work for pennies. Foxconn gets pissed at the workers if they don't get the product done right cause that comes out of Foxconn bottom line. So then that comes out of the workers pay.(which is not right) Apple uses Foxconn because they have the lowest bid and can pump the product out fast. Not Apples fault at all. IT IS FOXCONN that is the issue.
This is sad but true....and not to mention we're talking about a country that has a human rights record thats terrible at best. Might be better in recent years, or covered up better, but its still pretty bad. Much of this is cultural.
These products are expensive so shoddy anodized aluminum (and other hardware related faults) out of the box is not acceptable. Let me scratch my own phone not these factory workers do it for me. They know exactly what is expected of them upon starting there jobs. They should just sack any employees not willing to make these products with care & attention.
Thanks Amoda for the article.
As I sit here reading and typing this on my iphone5 I feel disgusted. This amounts to modern day slavery. And with my purchase I am feeding it. I love all the apple products I own but if things don't change I am sure I can live with out a new iPhone every year. We need to think about the PEOPLE who are making these products.
and its one of the most sought after jobs in the country. They work like that for two years save their money and go back home to start a business, get married etc.
Because as demand calls for faster product cycles, it leaves very little time to create the automation necessary to automate these processes. Every manufacturing line starts with the minimal amount of automation as the mfg process is being worked out.
I used to build assembly machines, and many times we hired temp workers to perform functions, we simply did not have time to build a machine for.
Yes?
To be clear: I think it's a bad thing for the American Republic to rely so much on offshore workers at low wages, and be so easily rewarded for shipping so much manufacturing offshore.
Any single company, however, has to compete in the economic terrain they find themselves in. Jobs' first impulse was to put up robot factories in America to make Macs, which remained in North American factories for a much longer time than PCs, which migrated offshore even pre-Windows.
This strike should show the world that eventually, wages everywhere will come up. As your labor becomes more and more skilled, they deserve to be paid more.
If this is a serious labor story, good for the workers here. But this Labor group seems to think that this is an Apple story instead of a Foxconn story. China Labor reporting through Gizmodo. And of course, Gizmodo is really a friend of labor. Ha. No, it knows that an "Apple is evil" story angle sells.
To be clear: I think it's a bad thing for the American Republic to rely so much on offshore workers at low wages, and be so easily rewarded for shipping so much manufacturing offshore.
Any single company, however, has to compete in the economic terrain they find themselves in. Jobs' first impulse was to put up robot factories in America to make Macs, which remained in North American factories for a much longer time than PCs, which migrated offshore even pre-Windows.
This strike should show the world that eventually, wages everywhere will come up. As your labor becomes more and more skilled, they deserve to be paid more.
If this is a serious labor story, good for the workers here. But this Labor group seems to think that this is an Apple story instead of a Foxconn story. China Labor reporting through Gizmodo. And of course, Gizmodo is really a friend of labor. Ha. No, it knows that an "Apple is evil" story angle sells.
I know that it may be impossible given the U.S. Unions, the pay Apple would have to shell out, and the fact that these jobs are already established (and in some cases, necessary) overseas, but I will always want one thing:
Bring the jobs back to the U.S.A.
Bring the jobs back to the U.S.A.
Once again, unions and workers shooting themselves in the foot... I'm not saying they should just put up with it, but strike action will only make the use of assembly machinery financially more attractive and thus put hundreds out of work as they'll need far fewer numbers to maintain the machines... It's happened throughout history, car industry, cotton industry, etc, etc, etc...