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How is cheap labour where people commit suicide ethical in any way? One of the reasons Chinese companies can manufacture so cheaply is the possibility of IP th

How is cheap labour where people commit suicide ethical in any way? One of the reasons Chinese companies can manufacture so cheaply is the possibility of IP theft. The west want to pay their poor less to manufacture things cheaply. The Chinese want to pay the western rich less to use their technology. Calling IP theft unethical in a sentence with cheap labour is oxymoronic.

chillacy 7y ago
Wasn't Foxconn's suicide rate in line with the nation's averages?
- pcr0 7y ago
  It was less than the national average, 14/million vs 22/million [0]. Nonetheless, they did have a problem with illegal overtime, abusive management, a lack of breaks and discrimination [1]. A lot has changed since then due to pressure from both Apple and the Chinese government. [0]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/10/apples-chinese-suicides-and-the-amazing-economics-of-ha-joon-chang/#2a9e7ef236a6 https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/10/apples-c... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides#Reports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides#Reports
- tooltalk 7y ago
  not for that age group. The average age for Foxconn workers I believe was 22 or 23, which is usually the lowest.
steve19 7y ago
Cheap labor is relative. The Indian minimum wage does not need to be the same as the Australian at this point in time. Outsourcing leads to employment overseas and its not in anyway unethical.
fiblye 7y ago
Suicide rates in the US outpace China by nearly double. The Netherlands are about 25% higher than Chinese rates. So isn't it unethical to work in the west? Shouldn't we be shipping jobs and tech off to China faster, since they have lower suicide rates?
- wolco 7y ago
  How does Japan do? Those might be the group who lost their job to China.
ajiang 7y ago
China is no longer a cheap labor country. A significant amount of manufacturing is moving to India, Vietnam, and other SEA countries, with some assembly moving to Africa.

chillacy 7y ago

Wasn't Foxconn's suicide rate in line with the nation's averages?

pcr0 7y ago
It was less than the national average, 14/million vs 22/million [0]. Nonetheless, they did have a problem with illegal overtime, abusive management, a lack of breaks and discrimination [1]. A lot has changed since then due to pressure from both Apple and the Chinese government. [0]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/10/apples-chinese-suicides-and-the-amazing-economics-of-ha-joon-chang/#2a9e7ef236a6 https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/10/apples-c... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides#Reports https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides#Reports
tooltalk 7y ago
not for that age group. The average age for Foxconn workers I believe was 22 or 23, which is usually the lowest.

steve19 7y ago

Cheap labor is relative. The Indian minimum wage does not need to be the same as the Australian at this point in time. Outsourcing leads to employment overseas and its not in anyway unethical.

fiblye 7y ago

Suicide rates in the US outpace China by nearly double. The Netherlands are about 25% higher than Chinese rates. So isn't it unethical to work in the west? Shouldn't we be shipping jobs and tech off to China faster, since they have lower suicide rates?

wolco 7y ago
How does Japan do? Those might be the group who lost their job to China.

ajiang 7y ago

China is no longer a cheap labor country. A significant amount of manufacturing is moving to India, Vietnam, and other SEA countries, with some assembly moving to Africa.