While you are enjoying the many benefits of your new iPhone, it is easy to forget about the factory workers who work hard to produce these phones. There have been situations over the years where major manufacturers put heavy pressure on the factories that make the products and depending on the factory, the factory workers often earn little payment for the work they do in the factories. If that is not bad enough, some factories treat the workers poorly.
This is something you want to keep in mind as you consider a recent labor strike at the Foxconn factory in China. The workers there went on strike after they were met with overly strict demands from Apple regarding iPhone 5, and this made the production of the phone to be interrupted for some time. The strike included nearly violent assaults at the factory, with the absence of some of the inspectors who work at the plant.
Apple Being a Bully?
Apparently the reason why Apple demanded stricter and almost unrealistic inspections of the products of the factory workers was due to some complaints made by the customers of iPhone 5 concerning the design of the phones. While Apple has the legal right to expect top quality manufacturing of the plants that are hired, some human rights groups wonder if Apple is becoming like a bully as it relates to the demands the technology giant is making to the factories.
Examples of Unfair Treatment
Some of the unfair treatments that occurred are also worth mentioning. According to the workers at the factory, the workers were frequently denied vacation time during the country’s Golden Week, where people usually get three days off from work. In addition, there were unsafe work conditions, and there has been a spike in suicides by some of the workers due to frustration about the situation at the factory in general. Earlier this year, the Fair Labor Association conducted a study on the working conditions at Foxconn and they noticed that workers did not receive fair wages and that could barely survive off their salaries.
Considerations
The Foxconn is not the only situation where factory worker injustice is taking place. Some years earlier, there was outcry about the working conditions at the Nike sweatshop factories. The workers at the Nike factories received low wages, and they worked very long hours with little time off or decent treatment from the bosses. Human rights organizations wanted Nike to improve the conditions of the workers and when this did not happen, some people in the United States decided to stop purchasing Nike products until things changed. In addition, some f the workers were exposed to harsh chemicals which could have been carcinogenic.
Conclusions
Those in the Western world have become so used to consumerism that they have not educated themselves on the harsh realities of those in developing countries who make the products for us. We should do what we can to raise awareness of the working conditions of the factory workers because this is our way of showing our concern and appreciation of their efforts.