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Apple rumored to begin paying Foxconn employees direct wages

34 points by jaybol 16y ago

benologist 16y ago
The actual source: http://micgadget.com/4484/apple-providing-subsidies-for-foxconn-workers/ http://micgadget.com/4484/apple-providing-subsidies-for-foxc...
megablast 16y ago
This is going to be a problem for the other workers, not working on Apple products. Will there be more troubles, with workers bribing managers to get into the lucrative Apple workshop? Hopefully this ends well.
- bradleyland 16y ago
  You can bet that it will get worse before it gets better. This strikes me as a well-intentioned action that makes all kinds of assumptions about the reasons people are committing suicide in China (this isn't exclusive to Foxxconn). I'm happy for the people who will benefit from the extra money, but the opportunity for unintended consequences is huge.
seanalltogether 16y ago
So what's to prevent the factory paid wages from dropping as a result? Someone up in management has got to be looking for a way to get their dues.
- ugh 16y ago
  The guaranteed PR fallout? That’s a stunt you can pull when you are not the focus of the press.
  - teaspoon 16y ago
    Foxconn can still eat up most of the benefit of the surplus pay by, for example, reserving positions working on high-retail Apple products for employees who work extra hours and keep quiet about abuses.
RuadhanMc 16y ago
$132 a month? Talk about slave labor... Makes me feel a little bit dirty about owning an iPhone.
- andrewf 16y ago
  Since these workers don't pay for food, clothing, accommodation, or anything else in US dollars, it's not reasonable to look at their wage in US dollars. They're paid in local currency, and the result of multiplying that by the conversion rate to US dollars says a lot about the terms of trade between China and the US, and very little about the buying power this money gives a local worker.
  - mahmud 16y ago
    $132RMB ~= 900RMB. It is, indeed, slave wage. The workers are charged for their meals from their salaries, though they buy a lunch card once a month. To put things in perspective: a two course meal in Shenzhen at a cheap Chinese restaurant is $20RMB/person. A McDonald's meal roughly 50RMB. A metro ride is 10RMB. A train ride within Guangzhou ~50RMB, a neighboring province +120RMB. A pirated DVD is 10RMB. One hour of internet at a netcafe is 7RMB. A bottle of Tsingtao is 10RMB. A pack of cigarettes is 10RMB. A 10 minute cab ride is 20RMB. A Chinese teenager can expect to spend 80RMB on a weekend, doing nothing but taking the train to visit friends, having dinner and two pints of beer and a pack of cigarettes. 26% of their weekly income for 2-3 hours of R&R. For comparison, an American teenager with a full time job, making minimum wage at $7.25 earns $7.25x8x5 = $290/wk. Dinner + beer + bus + cigs + movie ~= 10 + 6 + 8 + 4 + 10 = $38. Or only 13% of their weekly income on R&R, half of what a Chinese boy or girl spends, and I threw in a free movie experience at the cinema, something that would break any Chinese teen's budget.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - tomjen3 16y ago
      Thanks that was far more enlightening than the usual translated it directly into USD. Still to fully compare the wage, how was it before the teen had the ability to work there? What kind of wage would he then be looking at?
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- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
fierarul 16y ago
This looks highly unusual. Isn't Foxconn interest to keep their workers happy ? I'm not even sure how is Apple justifying this given those workers aren't Apple employees. So, basically, Foxconn increased the price of their service but included an item in the contract where the difference goes directly to the employees ? Nice way for Foxconn to maintain their margin and make their workers happier. What did Foxconn do ? Either way, it looks very strange. Apple could have handled this in many ways (for example, what about buying part of Foxconn). But it looks like the media won and Apple is paying to cover up the PR mess. I don't believe Foxconn only has Apple as a customer but somehow all the media was against Apple. And since Apple has the cash now, they just paid up. Let's see how will the workers not working on Apple products feel when their colleagues get more money.
- sown 16y ago
  > Isn't Foxconn interest to keep their workers happy ? No. As the saying goes, "Work hard today or work harder tomorrow looking for a new job".

34 points by jaybol 16y ago

The actual source: http://micgadget.com/4484/apple-providing-subsidies-for-foxconn-workers/ http://micgadget.com/4484/apple-providing-subsidies-for-foxc...

megablast 16y ago

This is going to be a problem for the other workers, not working on Apple products. Will there be more troubles, with workers bribing managers to get into the lucrative Apple workshop? Hopefully this ends well.

bradleyland 16y ago
You can bet that it will get worse before it gets better. This strikes me as a well-intentioned action that makes all kinds of assumptions about the reasons people are committing suicide in China (this isn't exclusive to Foxxconn). I'm happy for the people who will benefit from the extra money, but the opportunity for unintended consequences is huge.

seanalltogether 16y ago

So what's to prevent the factory paid wages from dropping as a result? Someone up in management has got to be looking for a way to get their dues.

ugh 16y ago
The guaranteed PR fallout? That’s a stunt you can pull when you are not the focus of the press.
- teaspoon 16y ago
  Foxconn can still eat up most of the benefit of the surplus pay by, for example, reserving positions working on high-retail Apple products for employees who work extra hours and keep quiet about abuses.

RuadhanMc 16y ago

$132 a month? Talk about slave labor... Makes me feel a little bit dirty about owning an iPhone.

andrewf 16y ago
Since these workers don't pay for food, clothing, accommodation, or anything else in US dollars, it's not reasonable to look at their wage in US dollars. They're paid in local currency, and the result of multiplying that by the conversion rate to US dollars says a lot about the terms of trade between China and the US, and very little about the buying power this money gives a local worker.
- mahmud 16y ago
  $132RMB ~= 900RMB. It is, indeed, slave wage. The workers are charged for their meals from their salaries, though they buy a lunch card once a month. To put things in perspective: a two course meal in Shenzhen at a cheap Chinese restaurant is $20RMB/person. A McDonald's meal roughly 50RMB. A metro ride is 10RMB. A train ride within Guangzhou ~50RMB, a neighboring province +120RMB. A pirated DVD is 10RMB. One hour of internet at a netcafe is 7RMB. A bottle of Tsingtao is 10RMB. A pack of cigarettes is 10RMB. A 10 minute cab ride is 20RMB. A Chinese teenager can expect to spend 80RMB on a weekend, doing nothing but taking the train to visit friends, having dinner and two pints of beer and a pack of cigarettes. 26% of their weekly income for 2-3 hours of R&R. For comparison, an American teenager with a full time job, making minimum wage at $7.25 earns $7.25x8x5 = $290/wk. Dinner + beer + bus + cigs + movie ~= 10 + 6 + 8 + 4 + 10 = $38. Or only 13% of their weekly income on R&R, half of what a Chinese boy or girl spends, and I threw in a free movie experience at the cinema, something that would break any Chinese teen's budget.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - tomjen3 16y ago
    Thanks that was far more enlightening than the usual translated it directly into USD. Still to fully compare the wage, how was it before the teen had the ability to work there? What kind of wage would he then be looking at?

CRISTINABROWN 16y ago

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deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

fierarul 16y ago

This looks highly unusual. Isn't Foxconn interest to keep their workers happy ? I'm not even sure how is Apple justifying this given those workers aren't Apple employees. So, basically, Foxconn increased the price of their service but included an item in the contract where the difference goes directly to the employees ? Nice way for Foxconn to maintain their margin and make their workers happier. What did Foxconn do ? Either way, it looks very strange. Apple could have handled this in many ways (for example, what about buying part of Foxconn). But it looks like the media won and Apple is paying to cover up the PR mess. I don't believe Foxconn only has Apple as a customer but somehow all the media was against Apple. And since Apple has the cash now, they just paid up. Let's see how will the workers not working on Apple products feel when their colleagues get more money.

sown 16y ago
> Isn't Foxconn interest to keep their workers happy ? No. As the saying goes, "Work hard today or work harder tomorrow looking for a new job".