We see conflicting reports today out of China. Rights group China Labor Watch says that “multiple iPhone 5 production lines from various factory buildings were in a state of paralysis for the entire day” yesterday after as many as 4,000 production workers at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory went on strike. Employees objected to the company’s requirement that they work on the country’s National Day holiday that runs from October 1 to October 8, and its failure to train them to produce phones that meet its standards, the group reports. Workers also said that design defects make it difficult to fulfill requirements that phones have no scratches on frames and back covers, and no indentation of more than 0.02 mm. That led to fights between production workers and quality control inspectors., “This strike is a result of the fact that these workers just have too much pressure,” says CLW Executive Director Li Qiang.
But Foxconn calls the reports of a strike “inaccurate,” according to a statement it provided to Reuters. It added that “there has been no workplace stoppage in that facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule.” It acknowledged that there were disputes last week, but says they were “immediately addressed and measures taken, including providing additional staff for the lines in question.” It also told the news wire that only volunteers worked during the National Day holiday, and they were paid three times their usual compensation — a standard set by law.


With such a large profit margin, why Apple allows such horrible working conditions overseas is beyond me…
Becoming more and more embarrassed to use my iPhone.
s
Hey, get back to work or start a civil revolution already!!!
They coulda had American union workers with a fair contract. But they chose to overpay executives and give the workers nothing. Rot in hell, Apple. Your iPhones are dripping blood.
and every other electronics maker (more than 11) whose products are made there.
good for them! perhaps if the chinese stop working for slave wages some more jobs will come back to the US!
Apple doesn’t care about the “workers,” yet liberals just keep on buying “cult” gear. Shame on you.
Now that profits are threatened, maybe Apple will move production to non-slave-labor countries. Hey here is an idea! Produce in Union state! Now that I think about it, why aren’t Unions on the warpath about this?
Where are you liberals? Where is your outrage? Why is algore, not speaking out?
Hypocrites, nothing but hypocrites.
Do you really think those jobs are coming to the US, think again, Foxconn is quietly setting up shop in Brazil, with a $494 million plant. Many think the new IPad Mini might be made there. It won’t take much to shift Iphone production there. IPad, IPhone it’s all the same.
At least it’s investing in the Americas South instead of North.
It’s amazing how many good people ignore evil all for a shiny electronic toy. Yep, I’m looking at you iPhone lovers.
It appears the Chinese workers may be waking up to their exploitation
Oh jesus christ, everyone on this board is on their fucking high horse this morning aren’t they?
You morons realize that this isn’t just apple right? Foxconn produces a wide variety on electronic products–and Foxconn is one of the BETTER mass factories in China (not defending them, just speaking relatively).
So next time your knocking iphone, take a look at that android in your hand, or xbox in your living room, computer chips in your car, and literally every other fucking thing you own and realize that it’s just just apple.
Your argument makes no sense. Maybe you missed the part when Apple was declared the most valuable publicly traded company ever? Or the 8.8 billion profit they just posted for the 3rd quarter? Or that bullshit lawsuit despite the fact they’ve never invented anything?
Ever knocked over dominos? Do you start in the middle or with the very first piece? Poor Apple being the target of these unfair accusations. What do you think sitting on all that cash does to the American economy, especially when we know they dodge billions in taxes each year.
Apple doesn’t use Foxconn because of cheap labor, but because they can violate human rights. If it’s not Ok for presumed terrorists in Guantanamo why is it ok for your little childproof gadget? Others might be doing it as well but no company comes close in their ability to set the right example. As Google showed with its Nexus Q it’s perfectly possible to design and manufacture consumer electronics in the US–but sure everyone else does it so who cares.