iPhone 5: Built on Slavery?

iPhone 5: Built on Slavery?

rinf.com

iPhone maker Foxconn has been accused of using slavery-like tactics by forcing thousands of underage students to work at the company’s production plant in East China.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.fairlabor.org
www.chinadaily.com.cn

I like Apple products.

I mean, I'm no hipster but you know, they make good stuff.

It's a shame they purchase from companies that use labour in this way, just like so many other Western companies.

What's striking about this report isn't the wage, it's not the financial aspect, is the way students are being denied an education.

The way the authorities are enforcing this.

I understand this might not be anything unusual in China. But does that make it right?

rinf.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Foxxcon, I haven't read one positive article about that place. Last time I heard about them a worker committed suicide. Apple is the #1 company in the world and this is how Foxxcon operates so just imagine how awful the conditions are at all the other factory/dorms are in China, and just about everything is made in China. But if it's out of sight it's out of mind so we find it easy to forget that pain & suffering probably went into the new iPhone 5 that's coming out, & every other Chinese product.

20+ hr workdays 7 days a week .. no holidays.. no sickdays.. no ot.. subhuman living conditions 25-50 people crammed into a tiny room .. insufficient sanitary facilities.. no cooking facilities... paid less than what 1 damn idiot phone sells for a month.. high suicide rate per month.. all so stupid fat lazy westerners can have the latest overhyped..overpriced idiot device... apple has the worst conditions of all companies in china .. asia to work under...

If they didn't it would be even more expensive. Without cheap international labor the standard of living America is accustomed too would be impossible.

Iphones along with almost every other major consumer electronic sold in the US.

As long as Americans want cheap electronics this will continue, take a stand and actually look into where your electronics are built.

Protest with your wallet, but be prepared to not own any of the latest gadgets, consumerism at its worst.

This has already been posted.

Apparently it was done under a work experience scheme in collaboration with their school system.

It sounds sinister but it is a practice that is used around the world.

In Year 10 at high school we all did two weeks work experience for a piddly $25 per week.

In fourth year at Uni you do 3 months industry experience for a few hundred a week.

The money was never worth it, but the industry experience was worth its weight in gold.

It's TOTALLY DISGUSTING!!!

To make matters worse that camera on the front is not so you can take pictures of yourself. It's so TPTB can spy on your front and back. Like lets be honest about it here.

But the world is becoming flat. Read The World is Flat. In terms of globalization of industry etc etc. So whoever can make it for the cheapest gets there bids accepted. So places like china and india etc etc are perfectly suited for cheap labor. I'm pointing out the obvious here but still....

The world countries are like have and have not countries. The first world countries, G20 countries etc etc get the best consumer goods. Made by the lesser countries.

As the world gets more and more efficient you'll only see more and more of this. Like 10 years ago you'd pay 5000 dollars to get a website built. Now you can get one built for 5 bucks on fiverr . It's nuts.

reply to post by newsaddict

$243.97 a month isn't slave labor in China, it's way above minimum wage, or at least it was a few years ago when I was keeping up with their wages.

But if schools have actually closed to send students to work, that's different from a summer job, which I'd expect the students to apply for. China can do pretty much whatever they want so if they decided to close some schools and send the students to work, the could make it happen, but why would they do that unless corrupt officials were getting bribed by Apple?

OK, that's not beyond possibility.

Originally posted by newsaddict

iPhone 5: Built on Slavery?

rinf.com

iPhone maker Foxconn has been accused of using slavery-like tactics by forcing thousands of underage students to work at the company’s production plant in East China.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.fairlabor.org
www.chinadaily.com.cn

All the products made in china (And Mexico and Indonesia, etc.) are made in conditions very few Westerners would approve of... shame our economy system is based on consuming cheap, disposable crap.

This is incredibly old news that basically no one cares about...

Originally posted by OccamAssassin
In fourth year at Uni you do 3 months industry experience for a few hundred a week.

This made me cry. I have a degree and that is basically all I make. Maybe when I finally have 12 years of college education I will make money.

Back on topic. Apple has about 9% of the market share and makes about 80% of all profits. Apple is a disgusting company that stands out amoung an industry littered with violations. I would never buy an Apple anything.

reply to post by newsaddict


There are blood stains over nearly all products that contain chips or components made out of rare minerals.

Search "Congo - Mines"

Sorry too lazy to provide a link, but it's absolutely atrocious.

So - what ya gonna do about it ???

This is very old news.

www.businessinsider.com...
www.dailymail.co.uk...
www.dailymail.co.uk...

The same factory makes stuff for the following companies:

Acer
CISCO
Dell
Hewlet Packard
Microsoft
Nintendo
Nokia
Motorola
Samsung
Sony
Toshiba

and others

Originally posted by Mkoll
If they didn't it would be even more expensive.

Why.

They choose to have these products produced in areas where labour is cheapest to maximize profit.

There is no reason why these devices would be any more expensive if they were built domestically, other than the companies making them not being satisfied with the profit margin.

A $500 iPhone could easily still sell for $500 if it were manufactured in the USA but that will never happen because the profit margin would be 5000% instead of 50,000,000%

Originally posted by HIWATT

Originally posted by Mkoll
If they didn't it would be even more expensive.

Why.

They choose to have these products produced in areas where labour is cheapest to maximize profit.

There is no reason why these devices would be any more expensive if they were built domestically, other than the companies making them not being satisfied with the profit margin.

A $500 iPhone could easily still sell for $500 if it were manufactured in the USA but that will never happen because the profit margin would be 5000% instead of 50,000,000%

No.

This little theory of yours would be grand if it didn't cost anything to design and innovate new technology. It obviously does.

The build itself of a 4s costs, in CHINA, $203 dollars.

www.cultofmac.com...

The ACTUAL cost of the phone, designing it, the software, the staff at shops, the website, the advertising, etc.etc. means the profit margin is NO WHERE NEAR 500%.

The screens alone cost $31... even when making tens of thousands.

This website is run on hardware made with slave labour.

Your clothes were probably made with slave labour.

Pretty much everything in your house, from the pipes to the insulation to the tv to the computer to your clothes, to the machines used to pick your food, were made in places that use slave labour.

Sucks to be a slave, but that's modern Western capitalism for you...

All I see is people worship Steve Jobs and this is the vulture-like cut throat business model that he used. This is how he made his billions. Slave labor. Steve Jobs was nothing more than a modern day slave master and, here's the kicker, he couldn't even donate a single cent to charity on his death bed. I don't even want to hear this "he made it himself he can do what he wants with it" because that's bull. He didn't make a dime. He used slaves to make his fortune. I hope to God he's burning in hell right now.

Originally posted by TrueBlood
All I see is people worship Steve Jobs and this is the vulture-like cut throat business model that he used. This is how he made his billions. Slave labor. Steve Jobs was nothing more than a modern day slave master and, here's the kicker, he couldn't even donate a single cent to charity on his death bed. I don't even want to hear this "he made it himself he can do what he wants with it" because that's bull. He didn't make a dime. He used slaves to make his fortune. I hope to God he's burning in hell right now.

Go ahead and try and rid your house of things not made by slaves...

Then get off your high horse and realise Jobs simply did what every other manufacturer did.

Originally posted by longlostbrother

Originally posted by TrueBlood
All I see is people worship Steve Jobs and this is the vulture-like cut throat business model that he used. This is how he made his billions. Slave labor. Steve Jobs was nothing more than a modern day slave master and, here's the kicker, he couldn't even donate a single cent to charity on his death bed. I don't even want to hear this "he made it himself he can do what he wants with it" because that's bull. He didn't make a dime. He used slaves to make his fortune. I hope to God he's burning in hell right now.

Go ahead and try and rid your house of things not made by slaves...

Then get off your high horse and realise Jobs simply did what every other manufacturer did.

You are right Jobs wasn't the only person to use this model, but it still doesn't make it any less disgusting. The fact is, we would have jobs in this country if there were restrictions placed on big business. Now what would you call shipping a nation's entire industry to a foreign nation? I'd call it treason. I think every single CEO of these corporations should be tried for treason. And then they should be tried for crimes against humanity.

America needs to stop worshiping big business and people like yourself need to stop defending scum like Jobs. If you honestly think that I'm on a high horse simply because I think slavery is wrong there is obviously something wrong going on in your head.

Originally posted by TrueBlood
All I see is people worship Steve Jobs and this is the vulture-like cut throat business model that he used. This is how he made his billions. Slave labor. Steve Jobs was nothing more than a modern day slave master and, here's the kicker, he couldn't even donate a single cent to charity on his death bed. I don't even want to hear this "he made it himself he can do what he wants with it" because that's bull. He didn't make a dime. He used slaves to make his fortune. I hope to God he's burning in hell right now.

Btw. As you're a Gary Johnson fan, this will interest you.

Q: You claim to advocate capitalism. So, who in America is your favorite businessman?
A: Steve Jobs comes to mind--he represents incredible innovation. Maybe Bill Gates. I didn't have any business heroes growing up. One of the realities of my life is that those I thought were heroes were not.

www.ontheissues.org...

Gary John's favourite businessmen are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates... two massive users of slave labour.

reply to post by longlostbrother


Just because I support him doesn't mean I agree with every word that comes out of his mouth.