Foreign media blurred the faces of interviewees in the interview video.
Introduction: A foreign media outlet published an article today about an 18-year-old female college student from a rural area who worked part-time during the Spring Festival at Foxconn's Chengdu factory. She manually attached more than 4,000 labels to iPad screens every day and worked 60 hours per week. Now, she is eager to return to school.
The following is a summary of the article:
Xiao Chen curiously stared at an iPad despite having never seen a finished product while working overtime at this iPad manufacturing plant located in southwestern China.
Xiao Chen, an 18-year-old college student from a village in southern Chongqing, is one of over a million employees at Foxconn, Apple's contract manufacturer. She curiously stared at the iPad and said, "Wow, I want one too."
At Foxconn's Chengdu factory, tens of thousands of employees work overtime, eating and sleeping in the factory. In addition to producing products for Apple, Foxconn also manufactures Kindles for Amazon and Xboxes for Microsoft.
As a poor rural college student with no work experience, Xiao Chen found it difficult to secure a job amidst fierce competition. Therefore, when offered a month-long opportunity by Foxconn during the Spring Festival with relatively high benefits, Xiao Chen readily accepted.
However, after arriving at the Foxconn factory, Xiao Chen was disappointed because only senior employees enjoyed higher benefits and could take sick leave. Moreover, Xiao Chen was required to work overtime regularly.
Xiao Chen said, "On my first day of work, an older employee told me, 'If you're wondering why you came to Foxconn, don't hesitate anymore, just leave now.' Foxconn employees often say, 'They treat women like men and men like machines.'"
In a recent statement, Foxconn claimed that it provides many benefits to its employees, such as healthcare, training, and promotion opportunities.
In an email statement, Foxconn said, "Foxconn highly values its employees and has been striving to provide a safe and positive working environment for its 1.2 million employees on the mainland. Compared to local peers, Foxconn offers very competitive salaries and benefits."
Facing media doubts, Apple also issued a statement saying, "We care about every employee in Apple's global supply chain. We would like to clarify that our suppliers provide safe working conditions for their employees, respect them greatly, and the entire production process is very environmentally friendly. To become our supplier, these conditions must be met."
Apple executives also stated that last month, Apple joined the Fair Labor Association (FLA), becoming the first company to recognize the association. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an email to employees that Apple cares about every employee.
Although many media outlets are criticizing Foxconn's working conditions, some experts point out that Foxconn's factories offer relatively high standards of work environments and benefits compared to most companies on the mainland. For example, the dormitories are clean and tidy, equipped with air conditioning and heating.
Geoffrey Crothall of the China Labour Bulletin said, "These companies make huge profits, and the workers feel they haven't received their fair share. But this is because, although Apple makes huge profits, it hasn't passed them on to Foxconn, whose profit margin is very thin."
At Foxconn, Xiao Chen manually attaches more than 4,000 labels to iPad screens every day, working 60 hours per week. After working for three weeks, Xiao Chen expressed her desire to quickly return to school, study hard, and not come back here.
Xiao Chen said, "It's too boring here; I can't stand it anymore. After work, I go back to the dormitory and sleep, then wake up in the morning and go back to work. That's my whole day; it's like being an animal."
When asked, "Why do people at Foxconn have to do machine-like work?" Xiao Chen's answer was, "Because human labor is cheap." (Liming)
Related reports:
- Hubei's labor shortage reaches 600,000: Wuhan Foxconn's recruitment boom does not appear
- Foxconn refutes sweatshop reports; no recruitment of 5,000 on the first day after the holiday
- Foreign media exposes Foxconn's use of child labor and avoidance of inspections
- Foxconn robots start work: each costs 140,000 yuan, IQ equivalent to a 7-8 year old
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