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Sounds like my student accommodation 25 years ago. We had human shit flowing down the hall on numerous occasions, the rooms were so small you could only lie dow

by hughrr 5y ago

Sounds like my student accommodation 25 years ago. We had human shit flowing down the hall on numerous occasions, the rooms were so small you could only lie down in one axis and the refectory food put people in hospital and wasn't even recognisable as described. It actually turned me vegetarian. All for £120 a week. This is always what happens when you subcontract responsibility out. The middle-man works out how to keep the margin as large as possible and that means the bottom rung gets squashed and everyone up the chain is getting lied to. This has been universally true through my entire life from (real) estate agents, IT contracting agencies, education and service contracts.

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mohanmcgeek 5y ago
The food for the workers was also seemingly college canteen food because the whole accomodation setup was a converted college + student dorm (which had been closed since COVID) Edit: Found a video of someone complaining about the food when it was still a college hostel. Now imagine what students, who do not have the same organizing abilities as workers, had to go through. https://youtu.be/RH336--NQVg https://youtu.be/RH336--NQVg
dkarl 5y ago
> This is always what happens when you subcontract responsibility out. The middle-man works out how to keep the margin as large as possible and that means the bottom rung gets squashed and everyone up the chain is getting lied to. Not always. You can have reliable middlemen who verify claims and investigate and blacklist fishy suppliers, but the buyers have to want it. Consider how we as purchasers of expensive electronics tend to buy from established retailers (middlemen) who invest in processes to ensure the legitimacy of the name-brand products they stock, instead of buying from an unknown company that was created last week and is selling the same products at a much cheaper price. We consider the risk that the unknown company with no history may have sourced counterfeits, intentionally or unintentionally, and we buy from a retailer we trust instead. It sounds like Foxconn's approach to acquiring accommodations for their workers is like buying an Hermes handbag under a bridge for $20.
aix1 5y ago
Sorry to hear you had to endure that. And £120 a week sounds like a rip-off. I remember paying just under £40 a week in Greater London at around the same time. The accommodation was pretty basic (a room in a hall of residence with shared loos/showers/kitchens) but pretty well looked after. Compared to student residences (общежития) in the former USSR the accommodation seemed almost luxurious.
- hughrr 5y ago
  Oh it was a complete rip off. It was apparently the luxury end of things but they put us in the “overflow” block. Catering was included in that price. It was renewed every 3 months so we moved into a 4 bed house which we rented for £400pcm and got 5 of us in it by using the living room as a bedroom. We got three weeks money back from the housing management after complaining loudly.

by hughrr 5y ago

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

mohanmcgeek 5y ago

The food for the workers was also seemingly college canteen food because the whole accomodation setup was a converted college + student dorm (which had been closed since COVID) Edit: Found a video of someone complaining about the food when it was still a college hostel. Now imagine what students, who do not have the same organizing abilities as workers, had to go through. https://youtu.be/RH336--NQVg https://youtu.be/RH336--NQVg

dkarl 5y ago

> This is always what happens when you subcontract responsibility out. The middle-man works out how to keep the margin as large as possible and that means the bottom rung gets squashed and everyone up the chain is getting lied to. Not always. You can have reliable middlemen who verify claims and investigate and blacklist fishy suppliers, but the buyers have to want it. Consider how we as purchasers of expensive electronics tend to buy from established retailers (middlemen) who invest in processes to ensure the legitimacy of the name-brand products they stock, instead of buying from an unknown company that was created last week and is selling the same products at a much cheaper price. We consider the risk that the unknown company with no history may have sourced counterfeits, intentionally or unintentionally, and we buy from a retailer we trust instead. It sounds like Foxconn's approach to acquiring accommodations for their workers is like buying an Hermes handbag under a bridge for $20.

aix1 5y ago

Sorry to hear you had to endure that. And £120 a week sounds like a rip-off. I remember paying just under £40 a week in Greater London at around the same time. The accommodation was pretty basic (a room in a hall of residence with shared loos/showers/kitchens) but pretty well looked after. Compared to student residences (общежития) in the former USSR the accommodation seemed almost luxurious.

hughrr 5y ago
Oh it was a complete rip off. It was apparently the luxury end of things but they put us in the “overflow” block. Catering was included in that price. It was renewed every 3 months so we moved into a 4 bed house which we rented for £400pcm and got 5 of us in it by using the living room as a bedroom. We got three weeks money back from the housing management after complaining loudly.