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Direct link to the video https://nitter.net/StephenMcDonell/status/1586633671150211072 https://nitter.net/StephenMcDonell/status/158663367115021107... It look

by sva_ 4y ago

Direct link to the video https://nitter.net/StephenMcDonell/status/1586633671150211072 https://nitter.net/StephenMcDonell/status/158663367115021107... It looks very disturbing to see them hauling their luggage (why do they have luggage at their place of employment?) out of something that I can only interpret to look like a prison.

dkjaudyeqooe 4y ago
> why do they have luggage at their place of employment? Because it's also their place of residence.
bretpiatt 4y ago
It is known as Foxconn City where workers all live on campus, good article from 2017 for more context https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-l...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
FpUser 4y ago
Ever heard of company towns?
- SkyMarshal 4y ago
  Yes, but not ones where you're fenced in with barbed wire and can't leave. I thought the concept of company towns was more financial and economic slavery, eg your company gives you a mortgage to a buy a house from the company, all near work so you can work long hours, and you're essentially an indentured servant. But this is actual slavery, these people are literally locked in and can't leave except by crawling over barbed wire fences.
  - xuki 4y ago
    They can’t leave because of COVID restrictions not because of Apple.
    - SkyMarshal 4y ago
      Was that barbed wire fence constructed recently just for COVID lockdowns, or has it been there the whole time?
      - cjbgkagh 4y ago
        The story I heard was that it was to stop people coming in who wanted to work there. From the video I saw the barbed wire was tilted outwards.
  - vbezhenar 4y ago
    I live in a multi-apartment house. When COVID started, one of tenants was found COVID-positive. Our entire house was locked by authorities for two weeks. It was forbidden to leave it, there was car with policeman and barricades. The only way to get food was to order it with online delivery. It was so crazy. In other cities authorities literally welded doors and cut small windows: https://newtimes.kz/storage/news/news/2020/04/05/5e8973f787be4313162591.jpg https://newtimes.kz/storage/news/news/2020/04/05/5e8973f787b... Thankfully this hysteria did not last long.
    - expensive_news 4y ago
      Where do you live? That sounds absolutely insane.
      - vbezhenar 4y ago
        I live in Kazakhstan indeed. It was insane. Over-reacting at its best.
      - sva_ 4y ago
        The link they posted suggests they live in Kazakhstan, to answer your question.
- gzer0 4y ago
  - dis-sys 4y ago
    I don't see any problem here as long as workers get freely to choose whether they want to live in factory dorms or in any other arrangements they can afford. Clearly such choice is available to them and there are numerous reports online that young workers are increasing choosing not to live in factory dorms. e.g. the following report talks about young female workers usually choose to move out of the factory dorm when they got boyfriends. https://www.163.com/dy/article/DQQLE6DM0524PO2V.html https://www.163.com/dy/article/DQQLE6DM0524PO2V.html I don't think anyone here has the rights to tell those workers where to live.
    - atdrummond 4y ago
      They do, actually, due to Hukou. There is not complete freedom of movement within China.
      - dis-sys 4y ago
        Other than the annual university entrance exam and buying properties, Hukou is no longer enforced. The real difference only exists for tier-1 mega cities like Beijing and Shanghai, 97% Chinese don't live there.
        ricardobayes 4y ago
        Since you can't get married without buying real estate, then it is pretty much enforced.
    - throwaway290 4y ago
      Of course they'd "choose" to move out as soon as they finally can, if they get on with a local who has residence. Otherwise the only alternative is more or less going home to their parents.
  - 4y ago
- lmm 4y ago
  Those things that are generally recognised as a dark part of our history that should not be repeated?
  - astrange 4y ago
    The bad part of company towns was that they didn’t pay you in normally accepted currency. It’s not the part where they gave you housing. Japanese companies also own worker housing, sometimes even owning the CEO’s house (as a way of making his wages look lower). Some of them are also abusive, doesn’t mean they all are.
    - ipaddr 4y ago
      The bad parts were nothing was public. The police,the roads,schools or even laws.
faangiq 4y ago
postingawayonhn 4y ago
Large Chinese factories are usually staffed by migrant workers who are housed in company owned dorms.
- techdragon 4y ago
  Important note for anyone that doesn't already know, migrant in this context refers to internal migration from far off home towns as opposed to "immigrant" in the context of temporary farm labour migrant workers migrating in from another country where such work forms part of their visa arrangements (Australia's migrant worker visas, pick some fruit, do some backpacking) or is part of seasonal regional migration over the border such as parts of the USA where Mexican workers legally migrate on short temporary work visas during farm's harvest seasons.

by sva_ 4y ago

dkjaudyeqooe 4y ago

> why do they have luggage at their place of employment? Because it's also their place of residence.

bretpiatt 4y ago

It is known as Foxconn City where workers all live on campus, good article from 2017 for more context https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-l...

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

FpUser 4y ago

Ever heard of company towns?

SkyMarshal 4y ago
Yes, but not ones where you're fenced in with barbed wire and can't leave. I thought the concept of company towns was more financial and economic slavery, eg your company gives you a mortgage to a buy a house from the company, all near work so you can work long hours, and you're essentially an indentured servant. But this is actual slavery, these people are literally locked in and can't leave except by crawling over barbed wire fences.
- xuki 4y ago
  They can’t leave because of COVID restrictions not because of Apple.
  - SkyMarshal 4y ago
    Was that barbed wire fence constructed recently just for COVID lockdowns, or has it been there the whole time?
    - cjbgkagh 4y ago
      The story I heard was that it was to stop people coming in who wanted to work there. From the video I saw the barbed wire was tilted outwards.
- vbezhenar 4y ago
  I live in a multi-apartment house. When COVID started, one of tenants was found COVID-positive. Our entire house was locked by authorities for two weeks. It was forbidden to leave it, there was car with policeman and barricades. The only way to get food was to order it with online delivery. It was so crazy. In other cities authorities literally welded doors and cut small windows: https://newtimes.kz/storage/news/news/2020/04/05/5e8973f787be4313162591.jpg https://newtimes.kz/storage/news/news/2020/04/05/5e8973f787b... Thankfully this hysteria did not last long.
  - expensive_news 4y ago
    Where do you live? That sounds absolutely insane.
    - vbezhenar 4y ago
      I live in Kazakhstan indeed. It was insane. Over-reacting at its best.
    - sva_ 4y ago
      The link they posted suggests they live in Kazakhstan, to answer your question.
gzer0 4y ago
- dis-sys 4y ago
  I don't see any problem here as long as workers get freely to choose whether they want to live in factory dorms or in any other arrangements they can afford. Clearly such choice is available to them and there are numerous reports online that young workers are increasing choosing not to live in factory dorms. e.g. the following report talks about young female workers usually choose to move out of the factory dorm when they got boyfriends. https://www.163.com/dy/article/DQQLE6DM0524PO2V.html https://www.163.com/dy/article/DQQLE6DM0524PO2V.html I don't think anyone here has the rights to tell those workers where to live.
  - atdrummond 4y ago
    They do, actually, due to Hukou. There is not complete freedom of movement within China.
    - dis-sys 4y ago
      Other than the annual university entrance exam and buying properties, Hukou is no longer enforced. The real difference only exists for tier-1 mega cities like Beijing and Shanghai, 97% Chinese don't live there.
      - ricardobayes 4y ago
        Since you can't get married without buying real estate, then it is pretty much enforced.
  - throwaway290 4y ago
    Of course they'd "choose" to move out as soon as they finally can, if they get on with a local who has residence. Otherwise the only alternative is more or less going home to their parents.
- 4y ago
lmm 4y ago
Those things that are generally recognised as a dark part of our history that should not be repeated?
- astrange 4y ago
  The bad part of company towns was that they didn’t pay you in normally accepted currency. It’s not the part where they gave you housing. Japanese companies also own worker housing, sometimes even owning the CEO’s house (as a way of making his wages look lower). Some of them are also abusive, doesn’t mean they all are.
  - ipaddr 4y ago
    The bad parts were nothing was public. The police,the roads,schools or even laws.

faangiq 4y ago

postingawayonhn 4y ago

Large Chinese factories are usually staffed by migrant workers who are housed in company owned dorms.

techdragon 4y ago
Important note for anyone that doesn't already know, migrant in this context refers to internal migration from far off home towns as opposed to "immigrant" in the context of temporary farm labour migrant workers migrating in from another country where such work forms part of their visa arrangements (Australia's migrant worker visas, pick some fruit, do some backpacking) or is part of seasonal regional migration over the border such as parts of the USA where Mexican workers legally migrate on short temporary work visas during farm's harvest seasons.