private-eye.co.uk
November 7, 2010
“A TEAM from Apple is independently evaluating the steps (Foxconn) are taking to address these tragic events, and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made,” said the computer behemoth in May after a spate of suicides by workers churning out iPads and other computer hardware at plants in China (see Eye 1263).
“Foxconn is not a sweatshop,” insisted Apple boss Steve Jobs in June. “We’re all over this.”
Really? Human rights group Sacom, which interviewed 100 workers and sent its own undercover reporters into Foxconn plants over the last six months, has concluded that staff continue to be treated “like machines.”
A pay rise to 2,000 yuan per month promised at the time of worldwide press interest in the suicides has failed to materialise, with most workers unaware it had even been announced. While staff are now officially limited to a leisurely 80 hours work per week, they report pressure to cheat on overtime records. Treats have been introduced, but they only extend as far as days out at worker rallies.
A “culture of absolute obedience” still prevails at the plant, according to the group, with disciplinary actions including making workers copy out sayings of Foxconn CEO Terry Gou such as “A harsh environment is a good thing,” and “Hungry people have specially clear minds”.
What did Apple, which last week announced “phenomenal” profits of £2.7bn in the last quarter and is poised to overtake Exxon Mobil as the US’s biggest company, have to say about the Sacom report? Several calls from an Eye hack went unreturned last week.
See also:
DEATH-plagued plant that makes Apple parts “no sweatshop”, has swimming pools, says Steve Jobs
Deaths from overwork are so common in Chinese factories that they have a word for it: guolaosi
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This article appeared in the print edition of Private Eye magazine (No. 1274, 29 Oct – 11 Nov, 2010)
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