NOTE: I originally hesitated before posting thisstory, which was published on the website of CBS News/Seattle last Tuesday andalso reported on the air, because I sometimes worry about being a“downer.” But my family has a close andpermanent affiliation with Wuhan, so I thought I should because it is so sad andshocking. (Despitethe fact that Im sure we all have suffered lousy days at work, I can’trecall ever considering, let alone organizing, a mass suicide initiative as asolution.) The story also stands in stark contrast to the things our ownpolitical media seems to regard as vitally important these days (e.g., Mitt Romney’s income tax rate; CallistaGingrich’s hair. Actually, Mrs. Gingrich’s hair does have acertain “man bites dog” aspect to it.)
The Foxconn-Microsoft story follows on last year’s reports of mass suicides at Foxconn’sApplemanufacturing facilities. Although this month's events receivedsignificant international “pick-up” (by Google's calculation, about 550articles were published), it appears to have made no noticeable impact, on public or media consciousness, i.e., it's your classic "one-daystory." But imagine if this were Your life, All your Life was and ever would Be. How would you feel?
Nets inplace
ByWilliam McGuinness
SEATTLE,Wash. (CBS Seattle) – January 10, 2012 11:31 AM
Some 300Chinese Foxconn employees who manufacture X-box 360 machines said they wouldthrow themselves from their Wuhan, China, plant if demands for lost wages werenot met.
ChinaJasmine Revolution, an activist revolutionary organization with a name borrowedfrom the Tunisian revolt that set off the Middle East unrest, reported thatemployees made their demands for a wage increase for 100 employees on Jan. 2.
Managementat Foxconn — the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and acrucial link in the supply chains of Apple, Dell, Nintendo and Song — respondedwith an ultimatum. Employees could quit with one month’s compensation awardedfor each year with the plant or go back to working.
Many employees quit, butFoxconn allegedly dishonored the agreement and awarded former employeesnothing.
Around 300 workersreturned to the plant in an uproar, and staged their protest on the plant’sroof on Jan. 4.
Rooftop action
Wuhan’s mayor intervenedthrough hours of negotiations, walking them back from the roof’s edge until 9p.m. when workers agreed to return to work, according to China.com.
In anemail to CBS Seattle, a Foxconn spokesperson confirmed the “workplace incident”occurred but said the workers protested because the company planned to move theworkers from one business unit to another on the same campus as a result ofshifts in the production line.
“The welfare of ouremployees is our top priority and we are committed to ensuring that allemployees are treated fairly and that their rights are fully protected. Theoperational changes that were the basis for this incident are being carried outin accordance with all relevant laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said.
Nets
A Microsoft spokespersonwrote CBS Seattle a statement saying, “Microsoft takes working conditions inthe factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we arecurrently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conductthat spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely onan ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed tothe fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and toensuring conformance with Microsoft policy.”
Foxconn came under fire in2010 when workers successfully committed suicide in a plant that manufacturedcomponents for Apple. Then, Foxconn told media that it considered everyworker’s life to be valuable while some plants required workers to signcontracts stating that they wouldn’t kill themselves.
Factory
Wired magazine was granted access to thefactories, which installed nets that would catch anyone attempting to jump.
Counseling center
Touring the Longhua plantin 2011, Terry Gou, the chairman of Foxconn parent Hon Hai Precision, saidsuicide rates among workers in his plants were smaller compared to the country’sand added a country’s suicide rate typically climbs when its GDP does, Forbesreported.
Rooftop action
Link: Ohio (Neil Young, Massey Hall, Toronto, 1971) (Thisstory reminded me of Ohio and Neil’s lyric: "What if you knew her/Andfound her dead on the ground/How can you run when you know?")
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