“Ms Chen”, as CNN calls her, works in a Foxconn plant installing iPad screens for virtually every waking hour of her life. Despite this, she never actually saw an iPad until CNN whisked her away. Her reaction will surprise you.
The video investigation, popping up (deliberately) close to the New York Times‘ piece on Apple labour practices, tells us what we already know: many Foxconn employees complain of inhumane conditions while building the gadgets we love:
During my first day of work, an older worker said to me, ‘why did you come to Foxconn? Don’t ever think about it again and leave right now’…Foxconn employees have a saying, “they use women as men and men as machines… there’s another way of saying it, ‘they use women as men, and use men as animals.”
But when Ms Chen is handed an iPad — an object that’s for her entirely foreign, despite being front of her face daily — she loves the alien slate that rules her life. “I like it,” she says, adding that she’d like to own one someday if she ever has enough money. Not even brutal, humanity-bending work conditions are enough to kill gadget lust.
StevoTheDevo
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 10:00 AMGotta wonder why they didn’t just give her the iPad?
(although, I guess giving her one would have been a dead giveaway to company “investigators” hunting her down.)
Boomzzilla
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 11:04 AMI’m sure CNN have guide lines or rules against paying source’s.
Mao
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 10:55 AM“Virtually every waking hour of her life” yet the interview quotes 60 hours per week?
Also, do many big tech companies let their low-level employees talk to the media? There are some very silly points made in this story (especially the CNN clip)
Damonii Ayreborn
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 11:32 AMpfft atleast she has a job
I have had 4 years experience in Electronics as a Technician first then an engineer, am a qualified programmer, qualified Cisco Network Tech and I cant even get a job as a sales person at a shitty store…
Sciby
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:14 PMProbably because you’re qualified for technical roles, not sales.
matt
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:34 PMReally!! I cant understand why no one would want to hire you when you refer to their store as a “shitty store”
Ash
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:54 PMMost techies dont have the “people” personality to deal with customers. They are not customer friendly and they usually wreak of that from a mile away as they tend to be introverts and not extroverts like sales people are.
Zac
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 11:50 AMits obviusly better working there than not having a job at all, you will find someone who dislikes their job in every workplace.
tony
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:07 PMyou all for get its china probably sucks alot more working there
chugs
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:40 PMyou’d think the very least Fox-con (hell its name is a similar to foxing or conning people isn’t it?) could do is at least give their workers 1 iPad/iphone.
Richard
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 9:02 PMThey make a lot more than Apple products. Should they get one of everything they make for free? Should people that work at a car manufacturer get free cars or builders a free house?
Foles
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 2:31 PMAs China moves into the ‘capitalist realm’ expect more misery from those condemned to serve their ‘running dog’ Masters who turned out to be their own countrymen! Oooh the irony!
Apothus
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 3:35 PMWhilst i agree with most commenters that the CNN article is almost useless. Out of a factory that size you could interview hundreds of people with a negative oppinion and they could all still be outliers.
However what i find to be a little sad is that they cannot afford the goods they manufacture. The same could be said for assembly line workers at ferrari etc but for what is a mid level average consumer product, i find it a little disapointing, i wouldnt mind paying a few dollars more for my products if i could be assured they benefit the lower tier manufacturing staff.
MD
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 3:42 PMDon’t worry, Fox-Conn is planning on the succession, replacing their expensive Chinese workers with Robots…..
Foxconn claims “No workers to loose all their jobs”, no the company will drive then to end themselves instead, avoids lay-offs…. or the worker will only be used for tasks the robots aren’t able to do, like get the robots cups of coffee….
So these poor people won’t have to worry about not seeing i-pads for much longer, in a little while they will be receiving the Chinese unemployment benefits…(NADA)