APPLE NEWS
ANDROID @ CHINA
CHINA TECH
GREAT FIREWALL
KNOCKOFFS
WTF?
CULTURE:CHINA
Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, who has often been accused of running “sweatshops” at the company’s factories in China said that there is nothing wrong with working his employees hard as long as the company is not breaking the law. “What’s wrong with sweatshops ? All farmers sweat before they harvest,” said Gou as he met a group of his Chinese employees who were chosen to a free trip to Taiwan at the company’s expense. As a reward to the hard working employees, each has received a free iPhone, cash bonus and some party dancing with the CEO …
Finally, Foxconn workers have the chance to have some experience on using the Apple’s iPhone while touring in Taiwan. Foxconn has invited over 200 employees to Taiwan for a seven-day free tour and the company will be footing the bill for all costs involved, rewarding them for their hard work and contribution. These high-performing workers are rewarded free iPhone and cash award, and they are scheduled to visit many popular tourist sites in Taiwan. This is certainly a 100 percent PR show plan out by Foxconn, telling the whole world their employees are working in a company with happiness …
A group of Chinese workers from Foxconn were invited to travel to Taiwan for a seven-day free tour, courtesy of their employer. The 217 Foxconn employees from 17 provinces and 21 factories in China are scheduled to visit many popular tourist sites in Taiwan. Foxconn will be footing the bill for all costs involved, because the tour is part of a plan by chairman Terry Gou to help reduce worker stress and encourage high-performing workers. These excellent workers had be chosen and they will get rewarded for their hard work and contribution to Foxconn, they will each received an Apple iPhone and 5,000 yuan (US$792) cash award …
Last week, around 20 Foxconn workers climbed to the rooftop of a building located inside Shenzhen plant for 26 hours to protest a planned move. The employees were protesting the company’s decision to relocate factories from Shenzhen to Huizhou, a city further north in Guangdong province, and urged the company to arrange employment for them in Shenzhen or to lay them off. Foxconn has refused to terminate the workers and said it will arrange jobs for them at other factories in the area or will hold further talks with those who insist on seeing their contracts terminated …
This morning, Foxconn workers from Taiyuan factory, which is located at Shanxi Province in northern China, went on strike again. Last month, hundreds of Foxconn workers have already gone on strike in a pay dispute. The protesters said that Foxconn had promised to raise the pay for all employees, but not for entry-level workers, prompting a number to go on strike. Recently, serveral rumors hint that the Taiyuan’s Foxconn plant is preparing to produce the upcoming new iPhones. The news of the workers strike was first posted at SINA weibo, the nation largest social networking platform (aka China’s twitter). In the meantime, there is no official words from Foxconn. We will keep everyone update on this, stay tune.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was awarded US$378 million in compensation last year, making him by far the top-paid CEO among big public companies in a study published by New York Times last week. The most interesting part of the story is, a Foxcoon worker needs to work 60,919 years to earn such an astronomical amount of money …
With all the controversy about working conditions in Foxconn, we thought it might be a good time to relate some of the workers’ experiences inside the manufacturing plants. China Business News reports on an interview that it did with a Foxconn worker called Wang Xiaoqiao (not his real name), and Wang reveals that employees who are involved in the production of the new iPad are now working fewer hours and they have been given more days off.
Hundreds of Foxconn workers from a factory in Shanxi Province in northern China have gone on strike in a pay dispute which is still under negotiation. The strike is taking place at a plant in the Xiaodian district of the provincial capital Taiyuan. A manager from Foxconn confirmed that some workers had downed tools. He declined to specify how many workers are involved but stressed that the factory was talking with the protesters …
According to a report from Guangzhou Daily, landlords in the area around the Foxconn factory has raised their rents, forcing Foxconn workers to pay at least 400 yuan ($63) a month in rent for a 10 square meter room.
Apple main contractor Foxconn is employing a two-pronged strategy to worker safety and satisfaction, by hiring new manpower in both its security and entertainment department. A Chinese recruiting website shows that Foxconn is hiring a host of fire-control specialists, as well as singers, actors, dancers and art directors. The hiring strategy appears to be a response to criticism over working conditions at Foxconn factories. The company is planning to increase the entertainment offered at its facilities in the hope of creating a more satisfactory environment for workers. Foxconn was investigated last month by the Fair Labor Association, at the request of Apple. It looks like someone has found out that safety and satisfaction are important elements for the young age workers. In fact, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou doesn’t feel shy to entertain his workers too.
M.I.C. REVIEWS
RECENT UPDATES
FEATURED VIDEO
LATEST M.I.C. PRODUCTS
POPULAR STORIES
HOT ARCHIVES
LATEST COMMENTS
STAY IN TOUCH
