ipod
06/12/2006, 12:00pm, EDT
Monday, June 12th
Claims of labor abuse at iPod factories
A new report entitled "The iPod City" states that Apple's iPods are constructed primarily by female employees who earn as little as $50 per month, but who work 15 hours per day. Foxconn's Longhua plant employs 200,000 workers who live in dormitories -- each housing 100 people -- which do not permit visitors from outside world, according to Macworld UK. Another factory in Suzhou, Shanghai rolls out iPod shuffles with workers who are housed outside the facility. Employees earn roughly $100 per month, but must pay for accommodations and food, which consumes half of their salaries. One security guard said that the Shuffle production lines are staffed by women workers because "they are more honest than male workers," while Apple's iPod nano is manufactured in a five-story factory that is secured by police officers, according to the report.
Filed under: iPod
, 
, 26
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
This is an INSANE business practice.
Oh...nevermind
Every company that relies on labor in China has this issue. Boycott them all, if you want. It's the dirty secret nobody wants to deal with.
When you're making $5200.00 a year in a country where the average income is just under $2000.00 a year, your doing very well. And even at $2600.00 a tear with food and lodging provided, your still ahead of the game.
While they're not allowed guests in the dormatories, it doesn't say that the women are not allowed to go out. Their society is different than ours. Most worker far from home are housed in company dorms.
Congratulations. I make $3000 a month, half of which is spent on rent and food. Oh the horror!
brinj: Comparative standards of living are important distinctions to make, but your math is off, too. $100/month is $1200, not $5200, per year. And I think in the developed world, people who are considered "middle class" tend to spend less than half their income on just food/housing, but I may be way off.
If businesses and people cared enough then we wouldn't keep outsourcing to China or overseas in such a rapid rate.