Factories making sought-after Apple iPads and iPhones in China are
forcing staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide, an
investigation has revealed.
At least 14 workers at
Foxconn factories in China have killed themselves in the last 16
months as a result of horrendous working conditions.
Many more are believed to
have either survived attempts or been stopped before trying at the
Apple supplier's plants in Chengdu or Shenzen.
Appalling
conditions: An investigation by two NGOs has found new workers at
Foxconn factories in China are made to sign a 'no suicide'
pledge
After a spate of suicides
last year, managers at the factories ordered new staff to sign
pledges that they would not attempt to kill themselves, according
to researchers.
And they were made to promise
that if they did, their families would only seek the legal minimum
in damages.
An investigation of the
500,000 workers by the Centre for Research on Multinational
Companies and Students & Scholars Against Corporate
Misbehaviour (Sacom) found appalling conditions in the
factories.
They claimed that:
Grim: Netting has
been put up outside worker dormitories buildings in Chengdu and
Shenzhen after a spate of suicides last year
The 'anti-suicide pledge' was
brought in after sociologists wrote an open letter to the media
calling for an end to restrictive working practices.
But the investigation
revealed many of the workers still lived in dismal conditions, with
some only going home to see family once a year.
One worker told the
newspaper: 'Sometimes my roommates cry when they arrive in the
dormitory after a long day.'
She said they were made to
work illegally long hours for a basic daily wage, as little as
£5.20, and that workers were housed in dormitories of up to 24
people a room.
In Chengdu, working between
60 and 80 hours overtime a month was normal, with many breaching
Apple's own code of conduct with the length of their shifts.
And the investigation found
that employees claimed they were not allowed to speak to each
other.
Production line: The
investigation found illegal amounts of overtime was rife and
workers claimed they were not allowed to talk during shifts
Must have: High
demand for iPods and iPads in the west has fuelled the tough
working conditions for part suppliers in China
Foxconn admits that it breaks
overtime laws, but claims all the overtime is voluntary.
Some officials within the
company even accused workers of committing suicide to secure large
compensation payments for their families.
Anti-suicide nets were put up
around the dormitory buildings on the advice of psychologists.
Foxconn said it had faced
'some very challenging months for everyone associated with the
Foxconn family and the loss of a number of colleagues to tragic
suicides'.
Spokesman Louis Woo,
responding to allegations that staff were humiliated, said: 'It is
not something we endorse or encourage. However, I would not exclude
that this might happen given the diverse and large population of
our workforce.
'But we are working to change
it.'
He added that employees were
'encouraged not to engage in conversations that may distract them
from the attention needed to ensure accuracy and their own
safety'.
Sacom said the company
initially responded to the spate of suicides by bringing in monks
to exorcise evil spirits.
Leontien Aarnoudse, a Sacom
official, told The People: 'They work excessive overtime for a
salary they can hardly live on and are inhumanely treated.
'Conditions are harsh and
they don't have a social life. Their life is just working in a
factory and that is it.'
Demand for iPads and iPhones
has soared, resulting in tough targets for workers in Apple
factories.
Apple's supplier code of
conduct demands that employees are treated with respect and
dignity, but its own audit reports suggest suppliers in China may
not meet up to these standards.
The global high-tech product
manufacturer made profits of $6billion ni the first quarter of
2011.
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