Apple has been in the news very
much recently, for such new products as iOS7, the iPhone 5S, and the iPhone 5C.
All of these things are positive and exciting for consumers, especially the
option of having a cheaper, more accessible iPhone in the iPhone 5C. The
methods for creating this phone cheaply are in question now according to an
undercover investigation in China, where some workers rights may have been
violated. Many of these workers are overworked, grossly underpaid, and put in
extreme danger, with little to no safety equipment being used.
The multi-national company, Apple,
hires firms that then hire workers in foreign countries to manufacture and
assemble the parts of iPhones. One of the companies that does this for Apple is
Jabil, which is coming under fire right now. Though Apple imposed a maximum of
60 hours per week of work per worker, Jabil supposedly has had many employees
working over 70 hours per week. Further, these extra hours still result in
extreme underpayment. In a nearby city, employees make around 3,000 RMB per
month, while the workers at the firm under question make less than half that
amount per month. The workers at this firm are also subjected to dangerous
chemicals, and use nearly no safety equipment. Safety equipment is available to
workers, but because they have never been trained in using it, they do not.
Apple has recently become aware of this situation, and immediately sent
representatives to investigate the situation.
Are these representatives meant in
good will, or are they possibly a cover-up for Apple possibly trying to
minimize costs through extremely low wages? The iPhone 5C is supposed to be
cheap compared to other iPhone’s, but that cost may come at a greater cost to
the humans that are the employees of Apple and Jabil. Though this news has
flown under the radar because of the glorious things Apple has been producing,
this news should be just as publicized.
Workers' rights 'flouted' at Apple iPhone factory in China
This is so sad to me. We see this so much in the US, a country for things to be cheap and fast. Often we dont' even question where or how something was made. We only ask "how much" and "how efficient." We are addicted to deals. Unfortunately, these cheap and fast things are produced at the expense of people with few rights and less-than-desirable working conditions.
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