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tazzygirl -> RE: iPhones and child labor (1/17/2012 3:52:28 AM)
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MISSION
Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) is a new nonprofit organization founded in Hong Kong in June 2005. SACOM originated from a students’ movement devoted to improving the labor conditions of cleaning workers and security guards under the outsourcing policy. The movement attained relative success and created an opportunity for students to engage in local and global labor issues. SACOM aims at bringing concerned students, scholars, labor activists, and consumers together to monitor corporate behavior and to advocate for workers’ rights.
We believe that the most effective means of monitoring is to collaborate closely with workers at the workplace level. We team up with labor NGOs to provide in-factory training to workers in South China. Through democratic elections, we support worker-based committees that can represent the voices of the majority of workers.
http://sacom.hk/mission
This is why I tend to believe their report.
I have no clue how far the rest of the money would go. I have seen sites say clothing and communication is expensive, taxis and bus about the same as the US, and that entertainment is a bit on the cheaper side.
From 2007 to the present, in addition to the normal 8-hour work shift, Yonghong workers
have been routinely required to do 3 hours of overtime work to fulfil rush orders. In any given week, they work 6 and even 7 days. Workers report that they suffer from extreme exhaustion. In a given month, they are forced to work as much as 100-200 hours of overtime, a serious violation of the law (the legal maximum allowable is 36 overtime hours per month).
During the peak season, Yonghong workers work overtime every night until very late. One young worker told us, “Our production manager just raised the daily production quota…it’s useless to report it to senior managers.” There seems to be no way for workers to meet the quota, even by working until 11:00 pm or midnight. Most of the workers start work as early as 7:30 am. In total, they toil day and night for 13 to 15 hours a day (sometimes meal breaks are cut short to only 30 minutes). In their words: “The next morning, we have to get up and work again…
Depending on which plant you look at on their report...
(3) Wages
Despite very long work hours, Yonghong workers are consistently underpaid. Our findings
show that probationary workers are even paid below the legal minimum.
According to Article 20 of the Labor Contract Law, “the wage amount of a worker during his or her probationary period shall not be less than the local minimum wage standard.” At Yonghong, however, during the three-month probationary period, workers receive a basic wage of only 700 yuan per month, not the regional legal minimum of 750 yuan. In other words, new employees are not effectively protected by implementation of the law.
(6) Dormitory and Canteen
The accommodation fee has been raised from 40 to 50 yuan per month. Water and electricity fees are added on to rent, depending on actual usage. In total, about 100 yuan per month is deducted from the average worker’s pay.
Each dorm room houses up to 12 workers who sleep in six double bunk beds
In terms of the price of food, the average worker spends between 120 and 180 yuan per
month on meals at the factory canteen. Workers in general comment that the food is of
extremely bad quality. They are also very concerned about food cleanliness and hygiene
(5) Dormitory and Canteen
In the factory canteen, workers pay for meals by using an electronic meal card. Prices range from around 3.5 to 4 yuan per meal. In total, the average worker spends 150 to 200 yuan per month for food in the canteen.
Each dorm room houses a maximum of 16 persons. Each worker’s paycheck is deducted 60
yuan per month for water and electricity.
(5) Dormitory and Canteen
Despite the recent upward adjustments of regular and overtime wages, Lite-On Xuji workers are required to pay a higher accommodation fee of 90 yuan per month, a 50% increase from the previous charge of 60 yuan.
Each dormitory room houses a maximum of 16 workers. They share the toilets, shower room, lockers and fans. Some workers cannot sleep at night due to the high volume of surrounding noise.
The factory canteen provides workers with 3 meals a day. Workers’ electronic meal cards
record the costs incurred (ranging from 2.5 to 5 yuan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and
the total amount is deducted from their wages every month.
(5) Dormitory and Canteen
There are nine collective dormitory buildings in close proximity to Tyco Electronics. Some are cleaner and newer than others. Each dormitory room houses 10 to 12 workers. The
dormitory compound includes basic facilities such as fans, bathrooms, showers, basketball courts, a mini library and a TV room. For the most part, the workers we interviewed found the dormitory conditions acceptable. Accommodation, water, and electricity are provided without charge to workers. But some workers express concern about excessive noise and overcrowded conditions. Although they have expressed their concerns, they received no answers from management.
In terms of food, one young female worker from Henan who eats in the factory canteen
reported:
“Our monthly wage is low. Each meal costs 2, 2.5, 3 or 5 yuan. I try not to
spend more than 350 yuan on food and snacks each month. I usually have a
steamed bun in the morning, fried noodles in the afternoon, and noodles or
rice at night. I seldom have fish.”
Workers noted that food quality is poor. Vegetables have too little oil, are sometimes only half cooked, and worms and sand have been found.
http://sacom.hk/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/report-high-tech-no-rights-may2008.pdf
The last one must be the one everyone refers too when discussing these plants.
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