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They get an above average salary by local standards. I wouldn't call this decent. I'm not calling out Apple's manufacturing partners here, whom are better tha

They get an above average salary by local standards. I wouldn't call this decent. I'm not calling out Apple's manufacturing partners here, whom are better than most, just making the situation more clear. edit: As to "huge bribes to middlemen", I live close to a Foxconn factory making Apple products in Chengdu. I've seen recruiters in a suburban (poor) farmer's market with a table setup recruiting people for Apple jobs. Yes, they were clear the jobs were for Foxconn making Apple products. I had my wife talk to one of them. Perhaps other factories at some times have been competitive to the point where employees paid fees to recruiters, but it doesn't appear to be happening where I live as of a few weeks ago.

glenra 15y ago
The workers paying the bribes mostly were from well outside the area where the factories were, including nearby countries. Quote from Apple's Supplier Responsibility report (page 7) http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_SR_2011_Progress_Report.pdf http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_SR_... Limiting Recruitment Fees Some of our suppliers work with third-party labor agencies to hire contract workers from countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. These agencies, in turn, may work through multiple subagencies in the hiring country, the workers’ home country, and, in some cases, all the way back to the workers’ home village. By the time the worker has paid all fees across these agencies, the total cost can equal many months’ wages, forcing workers into debt to gain employment. Apple views recruitment fee overcharges as debt-bonded labor, or involuntary labor, which is strictly prohibited by our Code. We limit recruitment fees to the equivalent of one month’s net wages and require suppliers to reimburse overpaid fees for all foreign contract workers in their facilities, including workers not assigned to Apple projects. To the best of our knowledge, Apple is the only company in the electronics industry that mandates reimbursement of excessive recruitment fees. Apple forced companies to reimburse more than $3.4 million that year to foreign contract workers, fees of as much as "thousands of dollars per worker".

glenra 15y ago

The workers paying the bribes mostly were from well outside the area where the factories were, including nearby countries. Quote from Apple's Supplier Responsibility report (page 7) http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_SR_2011_Progress_Report.pdf http://images.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_SR_... Limiting Recruitment Fees Some of our suppliers work with third-party labor agencies to hire contract workers from countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. These agencies, in turn, may work through multiple subagencies in the hiring country, the workers’ home country, and, in some cases, all the way back to the workers’ home village. By the time the worker has paid all fees across these agencies, the total cost can equal many months’ wages, forcing workers into debt to gain employment. Apple views recruitment fee overcharges as debt-bonded labor, or involuntary labor, which is strictly prohibited by our Code. We limit recruitment fees to the equivalent of one month’s net wages and require suppliers to reimburse overpaid fees for all foreign contract workers in their facilities, including workers not assigned to Apple projects. To the best of our knowledge, Apple is the only company in the electronics industry that mandates reimbursement of excessive recruitment fees. Apple forced companies to reimburse more than $3.4 million that year to foreign contract workers, fees of as much as "thousands of dollars per worker".