I think guys here need to be realistic.

Foxconn are a company to whom production of Apple & other manufacturer's products are outsourced. The reason they were chosen is in addition to technical ability was cost.

Foxconn employees are therefore not Apple employees. In fact all these companies that oursource do not care about the welfare of the actual people doing the work. As far as they are concerned this welfare is the responsibility of Foxconn.

Lots of us outsource things like cleaning of our houses, cooking, security etc. We  pay these people (maids, watchmen, washer women, etc) peanuts. We expect them to take care of themselves while not directly washing/cleaning/performing services for us.

Why do we suddenly care for Foxconn employees and ignore the welfare of those right under our noses? Why are we outraged over these conditions and yet we pay that maid 5k a month? 

How different is that situation from this?


On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 3:02 PM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:
I think you are generalizing the problem. Apple's heavy appetite for
its fashionable succesful lineup could be main cause of the deaths.
There are many who earn the same wages in that plant and for someone
to commit suicide, you must take way their passion/ability to live by
degrading them to that of a robot level despair in life. Saying we
seek cheaper equipment is not true. How cheap are Apple products
compared to others? Also look at the profitability of Apple sales,
from 50% to 89% depending on the segment.

Apple's revenues are running into billions while the worker at the
factory is getting paid a miserable US cents 0.3 per hour for skilled
labour? For any of the devices to pass quality control and where any
human inspection is necessary, that wage is too low.
No wonder the west dominates on wealth distribution.

BTW, when did you ever hear of someone jumping off the safaricom
building? The Queen Bee is not that ruthless.... :-)

Me thots.


On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 2:35 PM, Philip Musyoki <pmusyoki@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think the deplorable conditions at Foxconn can be attributable to poor
> management and working conditions. I think people will tend to pick on Apple
> more as a symbol of their frustrations than as a cause. People who commit
> suicide will commit suicide whether assembling an iPad, and HP computer or a
> Safaricom solar mobile phone.
>
> The main cause is the drive for cheap manufacturing, pushing all
> manufacturing jobs to China. The likes of Foxconn seek cheap labour, which
> they underpay for, and create unacceptable working conditions. I guess we
> are all as guilty as Foxconn, Apple, HP and the like. We seek cheaper
> equipment without caring their impact on those who toil to make them and the
> conditions they work in.
>
> And at USD 130 a month.
>
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