By Cyril Chang, posted Sep 24, 2012 at 12:03 PM, 4,469 views,

Unearth The True Feelings of Taiyuan Foxconn Workers

Remember our breaking undercover journalist story being reported a week ago? Regarding the most recent riot, we have contacted the same undercover journalist called Wang Yu via QQ (China’s most popular IM software) and he has something to say. He made 3 very close friends during the 10 days stay in the Taiyuan Foxconn factory and he talks about their miserable life in Foxconn.

Foxconn Worker # 1 Zhang Qiang
“My hand become Pig Trotter after assembling the iPhone 5″

the workers feel tense and nervous during the interview session

Zhang Qiang of age 20 comes from China Jincheng Village. He stopped school during secondary education and has started working since then. Here’s what Zhang said,

“I remember during the Foxconn recruit interview session, we were asked to undergo a fitness test and this little fat boy shouted: “What is the fitness test for!?”

During his first working day assembling the iPhone 5. He whispered to another fat worker sitting beside him:

“If you do not follow the guidelines while processing the machines, we will have ‘meat’ for supper tonight!”

He described that after whole night of assembling the iPhone 5 his hand has swollen like Pig Trotter.

Zhang Qiang originally worked in a bakery shop where he can earn at least 1,500 yuan (about US$236) every month just by working 4 hours each day. But he now needs to work full 8 hours in Foxconn in order to get the same amount of pay. He said:

“I’m forced by my parents to work here as they think that there’s no prospect being a Bread Maker! But I will surely leave Foxconn and look for a new job in some local bakery shop.”

Foxconn Worker # 2 Qian Kai
“I feel loss and hopeless”

Qian Kai of age 23 also from China Jincheng Village. He once worked in Shanghai Electrical Factory before and it was overall a very happy experience back then. He holds an engineering certificate and he’s able to earn at least 5,000 yuan (about US$786) with this cert. When the undercover reporter asked why he come to Foxconn then? He replied:

“I’m only here to learn some business as I’ve never been to such a large factory before, but now I feel totally loss and hopeless after I came in…“

Foxconn Worker # 3 Zhao Fei
“I love reading the Legend of Steve Jobs, but I can’t afford an iPhone 5″

Foxconn workers love to read

Zhao Fei of age 21 come from Henan province. He’s studying from a management degree course in some Zhengzhou university. He originally wanted to work in Zhengzhou Foxconn factory for his summer holiday job but he was then arranged to Jincheng Foxconn Training Base for training and then transferred to Taiyuan to assemble iPhone 5. He’s being arranged to curve out the iPhone 5 rear using a machine, but he’s only allowed to stand whole day during the work. He said:

“The production line I’m arranged in originally needs at least 17 workers, but due to too many worker resign recently, there’s only 7-8 workers left now. Despite having not enough workers, we are still being asked to meet the same original production target of 5,600 rear panels a day. We are all over stressed!“

He then carried on:

“The cooling agent used to cool the machines which release a very unbearable smell which is bad for our nose and our throat. Originally, we are supposed to be given a new mask everyday, but we are only being given a new mask every week now, this is ridiculous!”

Taiyuan Foxconn workers taking a rest

Zhao places a book on the bed: The Legend of Steve Jobs. He knows Steve Jobs, he knows iPhone. The book was borrowed from his classmate. He praised Steve Jobs of his Creative Spirit:

“Although he sells iPhone at an expensive price, but he has made a High Quality product that no one does. He’s a miracle, BUT.”

He pulsed for a moment and said:

“We can’t follow everything the same from Steve Jobs, we have our own ways of doing things.”

Talking about the iPhone 5, the undercover journalist has asked the Foxconn worker whether he likes the new iPhone 5. The worker smiled and replied:

“I will not change my phone as long as it still works, since I can’t afford an iPhone 5.”

ONE MORE THING
The Painful Memory of the Undercover Journalist After Assembling the iPhone 5

Spy shot of iPhone 5 production line in Foxconn Taiyuan factory

The journalist has explained to us that, ever since after he left Foxconn, a kind of “Painful Muscle Memory” has been embedded into his body. It has been more than a month since he left Foxconn, but whenever he walks pass the street and see the bitten Apple logo, he will suddenly feel numb over his nerve and pain in his muscle. We are also being reminded that during his whole training session, he has only worked on the iPhone 5 during the last 3 days. We can’t barely imagine how would those Foxconn workers withstand such pain for several months or even several years.

A Foxconn worker fainted due to lack of rest

M.I.C Thoughts

Foxconn’s Taiyuan Factory

From the above true life story of the 3 Foxconn workers told by the undercover journalist Wang Yu, we believed that the Taiyan Foxconn factory has truly overstressed their workers in order to produce enough iPhone 5 for Apple. Under severe working and living condition (please read our Undercover Journalist Story Part 1), the workers can’t accept such treatment, hence outbreak a riot yesterday night.

Source: CPCW (China Popular Computer Week)

Our editor Star Chang and Chris Chang contributed to this report.

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  • Mr Right

    The Chinese should stop being slaves to big greedy corporations! Kick out those Foxconn slave driving bastards!

  • RaptorOO7

    If these are the working conditions at Foxconn factories today after the Apple visit and inspections by the trade association then one has to ask, how committed is Foxconn, Apple (and the other customers of Foxconn) to provide a safe, healthy working environment? Seems they still care little about the worker and its once again all about meeting consumers insatiable demand for Apple products. Worker health be damned, safe working environment be damed.

    Maybe next go round Tim Cook can forgo his big multi-million dollar bonus and pay it to the Foxconn workers.

  • Luke

    This is just normal China. It’s the same in most factories. And the West continues to exploit the Chinese economy, and the Chinese government continues to let the West do it. China doesn’t allow workers unions (you’ll be jailed and eventually hang yourself from a window with a bed sheet for being a unionist). So, there is little hope of conditions improving soon. However, I believe it’s not so bad, relatively speaking. Long hours, hard work and low pay is the reality for most Chinese still. Why should Foxconn be different just because they manufacture for Apple? The problem is not Apple. Every other major Western consumer electronics company is exploiting the same situation. The problem is China’s economic policies, and most importantly the COMPLETE LACK of a national trade certification system coupled with workers rights, unions, appropriate legal protections and auditing of health and safety by registered third parties. Labor in China is still essentially slavery. I earn a modest income in China but its 10 times what my Chinese colleagues earn. Countries that have a healthy labor system also have democratic systems of government that ensure accountability and maintenance of a minimum level of working conditions because the two developed from the same thing: a government that answers to the people and serves the people. China needs a cultural revolution. A real/positive one. /endrant

    • b_f

      nope this is not the norm. read the actual article. the article says that you can get 1500 rmb per month at a local bakery. i know for a fact that waiters and waitresses make more money working 8 hours per day 5 days per week than at Foxconn working the equivalent time. Only with 20+ hours overtime per week does the Foxconn worker beat the waiters and waitresses. Foxconn pays the minimum wage. Its worse than the equivalent of working McDonalds.

      how are the working conditions in every “democratic” country that’s not in the west (and some in the west)? How’s Uganda, India, Philippines? Or what about OECD member Turkey?
      where do you work? look at the pay at actual Chinese companies like First Heavy, SANY, or Huawei.

  • some student from germany

    Thanks for this article.
    And please keep going on writing them!

    I’m going to give a presentation about that topic in class, hoping I can make people think twice about where their new smartphone comes from and what mess happens today in china.