On May 6, a group of worker advocates in Hong Kong released a report on factories in China where Apple’s iPhones and iPods, and Hewlett Packard’s laptops are made, and the findings were pretty damning. Alas, if anyone noticed the report, three workers may be alive today.
The owner of the facilities Foxconn had come under fire last year for the 14-plus suicides committed by employees of the company. The problem of workers flinging themselves off of stairwells at the plant because of the horrible working conditions was so bad the company installed nets to keep employees from jumping off upper levels.
Foxconn had promised to make things better but a group called Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior in Hong Kong decided to keep an eye on whether things would really change, hence the report. In additional to finding a continuation of tough working conditions, including forced overtime and crummy wages, the researchers discovered an ominous problem. The workers were breathing in aluminum dust.
This from the report by SACOM, as the group is known:
In the milling machine department in Chengdu, some workers state they always breathe in the aluminium dust. Workers in the polishing department also complain that the department is full of
aluminium dust. Even though they have worn gloves, their hands are still covered by dust and so
as their face and clothes. Some workers comment that ventilation on shop floor should be
improved.
The report was released earlier this month, and this past Friday guess what happened at one of the Foxconn facilities? An explosion, and according to a Wall Street Journal story today, “a preliminary government task force blamed combustible dust in a duct at the facility.”
We don’t know all the details yet but few can deny the conditions Foxconn workers face are deplorable, at best. How many people have to die before we start rethinking how U.S. companies exploit low-wage workers around the globe?
May 24th, 2011 at 10:21 am
Around the globe? Check your back yard. Sure, we have OSHA in the US, and things usually are better here, but there’s still a lot that flies below the radar. Grinding dust where I work is horrible. It’s in the office areas of our complex, as well as on the shop floor. Not only that, but the company waited until after the new addition was inspected and had its final signoff before converting the “storage loft” into office space. There’s no sprinklers. The electrical contractor argued with them because the company didn’t want to put in emergency lights. That second-story loft doesn’t have an elevator, either (ADA required?). Local inspectors still doen’t know about one entire shop bay, because when they put up the building they put in a false wall to hide it (told the inspector it was just storage space).
I’d love to call this stuff in to the inspector, but I need my job and I don’t want the company shut down because dozens of other people’s jobs would be lost. No its not safe here, but what options do we have?
May 24th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
you are protected as a whistleblower under OSHA. The company cannot retaliate against you. If they do, you can sue and get big money. You need to report these conditions.
May 24th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
I live in the town where this facotry is located. Where will I get work? If the company goes under, there’ll be no way to collect a settlement. What about my kids who go to school with the kids from the other families that work here? I’d be forever branded as the guy who shut down the big employer.
May 24th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
There are many people like you FactoryGuy. Blowing the whistle on a company’s illegal activities is easier said than done. Often times it does lead to job loss, but you have to weigh many factors. If you are injured or someone dies as a result, what will that mean in the end for you? Some employers like to have workers who feel as you do because they know they can do what they want with impunity. They want you to fear getting fired, or a possible plant shut down so you don’t say anything. But in many cases OSHA comes in, fines the employer, things are fixed, and life goes on. If they do fire you for talking to inspectors about what you see they are indeed breaking the law. But fighting that battle can be a long one.
The reality is, however, nothing will change in this country or around the globe if we’re afraid to speak up.