Meet the workers dying to meet your iPad 2 demand
Asher Moses
May 9, 2011
Workers required to sign 'no-suicide' pacts
Military style managers humiliate staff
Standing up for over 14 hours a day
Up to 100 hours overtime a month
Wages as little as $186 a month
If you're frustrated at being unable to buy an iPad 2, spare a thought for the Chinese workers who may never be able to afford one of the shiny new gadgets but are literally dying to get them out fast enough to meet Western demand.
A new report into conditions at Apple's manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has found slave labour conditions remain, with staff complaining of being worked to tears, exposure to harmful disease, pay rates below those necessary to survive and military-style management that routinely humiliates workers.
In compiling its report, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) visited Foxconn factories in Shenzhen, Chengdu and Chongqing and interviewed 120 workers in March and April this year. SACOM is a non-profit Hong Kong-based organisation formed in 2005 to monitor and improve working conditions in Chinese factories.
Following about 13 suicides at Foxconn factories last year, Apple visited China and concluded that Foxconn had taken appropriate measures to improve conditions. Despite this, SACOM in its research found that onerous and in some cases illegal working conditions remain.
Workers required to sign no-suicide pacts
Local and mainland Chinese university students play dead to highlight the cause of Apple factory workers.
Local and mainland Chinese university students play dead to highlight the cause of Apple factory workers. Photo: AP
Conditions at Foxconn's two Chengdu factories, which exclusively produce Apple iPads, were among the worst reported. While nets have been installed to catch suicidal workers, factory staff are reportedly required to sign "no-suicide" pacts which also give licence to Foxconn to institutionalise them if it sees fit.
Workers at Chengdu say they are routinely humiliated and scolded by management. One was forced to stand in a corner with his hands behind his back because he giggled with a colleague. Others have been required to write confession letters to their supervisors after making mistakes and in some cases read the letters out in front of colleagues.
"Some of my roommates weep in the dormitory. I want to cry as well but my tears have not come out," said 19-year-old Chengdu worker Chen Liming.
May 7 was declared "Global Action Day" - a protest against Apple and conditions at Foxconn factories.
May 7 was declared "Global Action Day" - a protest against Apple and conditions at Foxconn factories. Photo: AP
Ah Ming, 19, who produces cases for the iPad, said he stands for at least 14 hours a day. He wakes up at 7am to queue for the bus to the factory and it is 9pm by the time he returns home every evening.
"I [am] just like a robot repeating the same motion. I don't have to use my brain ... it's routine: sleep, work and eat," Ming said.
Up to 100 hours of overtime a month
Chinese labour laws stipulate that overtime should not exceed 36 hours a month but the report found that Foxconn workers routinely work 80-100 hours of overtime a month and in many cases are forced to work overtime to earn a liveable wage.
This is on top of their regular 174 hours of work a month and many workers endure "continuous shifts" and so end up having to skip meals.
"The machines in our department are in operation 24/7. If some colleagues go out for dinner, then the workers who stay in the workshop have to take care of three machines at the same time," one worker said.
Workers complain that production targets keep rising and they are required to work faster and faster and are unable to talk. New workers have to undergo military-style training to make them used to standing up all day.
"Foxconn always claims it adopts humane management, but it is military management in practice," an assistant to the line leader in Chengdu said.
'My nostrils are totally black every day'
The report also found that workers did not have adequate protections to safeguard against occupational health and safety issues such as aluminium dust and harsh reactions from chemicals used in the production process.
"I'm breathing in dust at Foxconn just like a vacuum cleaner. My nostrils are totally black every day," one male worker said.
Xiao Ying, 22, started working for Foxconn in mid-February and was responsible for removing excessive glue from iPad cases using industrial alcohol. She quickly developed a red rash on her legs, arms and face and had no idea how to fix it, even resorting to rubbing rice wine on the affected areas.
Ying, who resigned in April, was also forced to stand up all day and had to bath her feet in hot water daily.
"We have to queue up all the time. Queuing up for bus, toilet, card-punching, food, etc. During recess, we don't have a place to sit. We can only sit on the floor," Ying said.
"We get up in early morning and can only return to the dorm in late evening. I am really worn out."
The report found regional governments in China have few incentives to rectify issues as they are all fighting each other for Foxconn's investment in their communities. In fact, many of the Foxconn workers are recruited by government ads, which themselves have been labelled misleading as they advertise pay rates that are only achievable if significant overtime is worked.
Surviving on $186 a month
Foxconn last year promised to raise pay rates at its factories following public outrage. However, the report found that any increases were cancelled out by the fact that Foxconn now refuses to provide a separate food and housing allowance.
Basic monthly salaries at Foxconn's Shenzhen, Chengdu and Chongqing factories are 1590 yuan ($228), 1300 yuan ($186) and 1350 yuan ($193), respectively. These wages are up to half the "living wage" in the areas, according to SACOM, leading many to work overtime.
Even at these low salaries, Foxconn routinely fails to pay workers the amount they are owed.
"I take care of about 100 workers in the production line. Every month, I have to report about 50 cases of underpayment to the human resources department," said an assistant to the frontline supervisor in Chengdu.
The food is so bad at the staff canteen that one worker said he "almost vomited" after a meal. Workers are housed in overcrowded dorms, with six to 22 people sharing a room.
"I never dreamed that I will buy an iPad, it may cost me two months' salary. I cannot afford it. I come from a village to sell my labour at Foxconn. All I want is to improve the living conditions of my family," one 24-year-old worker said.
Apple has sold more than 20 million iPads and its chief operating officer Tim Cook said in a recent earnings call that the company had sold every single iPad it had been able to produce.
Apple has yet to respond to the allegations in the SACOM report despite claims that the conditions in the factories breach the company's Supplier Code of Conduct.
Foxconn told the Daily Mail that the conditions described were "not something we endorse or encourage" but the company "would not exclude that this might happen, given the diverse and large population of our workforce".
"But we are working to change it," the Foxconn spokesman said.
In a separate statement, Foxconn disputed the accuracy of the SACOM report.
"We have made tremendous progress over the past year as we work to lead our industry in meeting the needs of the new generation of workers in China and that has been confirmed by the many customer representatives, outside experts, and reporters who have visited our facilities and openly met with our employees and our management team," Foxconn said.
A typical day of a worker in Chengdu
06.45 Wake up
07.15 Queue up for bus
07.40 Arrive at Foxconn (breakfast and punch card)
08.10 Work assembly
08.30 Work shift begins
11.20 Lunch
12.20 Work shift resumes
17.20 Dinner
18.20 Overtime shift begins
20.20 Work shift ends
21.00 Arrive at dormitory
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