Suicide wave hits Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer Foxconn: 10 dead

[Watchman]

Suicide wave hits Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer Foxconn: 10 dead
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 at 1:22 am


BEIJING (BNO NEWS) -- Another employee of Taiwanese tech firm Foxconn committed suicide on Friday, the 10th employee to do so in just several months, Chinese state-run media reported on Saturday.
21-year-old Nan Gang climbed to the top of a four-story factory building in Foxconn's industrial complex in Longhua Township, in south China's Shenzhen city, at around 4 a.m. local time on Friday. He jumped about 37 minutes later, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Nan's jump was the 10th jump by employees of Foxconn in just four months. Foxconn is part of Hon Hai Precision, the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, and employs 800,000 workers worldwide, mostly in China.
The first suicide took place on January 23 when 19-year-old Ma Xiangqian jumped off the building. Eight other people, six men and two women, later committed suicide in a similar way. Two female employees failed to kill themselves, and were hospitalized with serious injuries.
The spate of deaths comes after a Foxconn employee in charge of shipping Apple's iPhone prototype units killed himself last year after one of the units went missing.
There were accusations of bad employment practices at Foxconn, but Apple said those claims were largely unfounded.

 

[Logisex]

The basic pay is only CNY900 and employees have to work tons of OT to make ends meet.

Heard that the employees have been pushed very hard by their Taiwainese supervisors which have been described by some as "Bian Tai" as they fark their employees non-stop using vulgarities.

 

[Watchman]

 

[Received_by_Kings]

The basic pay is only CNY900 and employees have to work tons of OT to make ends meet.

Heard that the employees have been pushed very hard by their Taiwainese supervisors which have been described by some as "Bian Tai" as they fark their employees non-stop using vulgarities.

Taiwanese people are dogs. China shouldn't have allowed these mongrels to set up shop in the mainland.

 

[Received_by_Kings]

And these people are so young... sigh. Is there actually a better way for them than ending their lives?

 

[Einfield]

Taiwanese, Koreans and Honkies, all exploit the local PRC like dogs.

Taiwanese people are dogs. China shouldn't have allowed these mongrels to set up shop in the mainland.

 

[Jabba]

heard abt the horrid treatments by the taiwanese superiors too...heard they have to pay for their own hairnet ...gloves etc...

 

[Cuntamania]

There is no better way other then this! The family get paid Rmb300,000 to Rmb500,000 if they die. Who pay? The company. That is why a lot of these goons always use suicide as a threat to the company. I know cos' i am working here and running a factory. Ye i do agree Foxconn do put lots of pressure on these goons, look on the hand if not they take you for granted. If the goons are afraid to take their own life, they will use other ways to make you pay them and it's going to be big.

And these people are so young... sigh. Is there actually a better way for them than ending their lives?

 

[Logisex]

Taiwanese, Koreans and Honkies, all exploit the local PRC like dogs.

The biggest PRCs exploiters are the PRCs themselves. If you are poor or has no "Gian Xi" in China, you will be exploited.

 

[Logisex]

There is no better way other then this! The family get paid Rmb300,000 to Rmb500,000 if they die. Who pay? The company. That is why a lot of these goons always use suicide as a threat to the company. I know cos' i am working here and running a factory. Ye i do agree Foxconn do put lots of pressure on these goons, look on the hand if not they take you for granted. If the goons are afraid to take their own life, they will use other ways to make you pay them and it's going to be big.

Oh so that's how it is.........I guess the company could not say this in public or their factory would ptobably be burn down by their employess. Till now, there is no formal report on why these people commit suicide and the whole world seems to put the blame/root cause on the company.

 

[Logisex]

It was reported in the internet that an employee who was suspected of stealing one of the Ipad prototype was beaten up real bad by the company. Not sure whether its true.

 

[Watchman]

Foxconn security guards caught beating factory workers

By Kenneth Tan on May 20, 2010 6947 Views

Just when we thought we wouldn't be hearing anymore of that hellhole-of-a-workplace otherwise known as Foxconn, yet another scandal has erupted. This time, several security guards at Foxconn's Beijing plant have been filmed getting physical with factory workers. In a clip that has been circulating around on Chinese interwebs, two guards are first seen pulling a Foxconn employee by his shirt and shoving him around. Meanwhile, three other guards outside have pinned another employee to the ground, and they are joined by another ten or so guards who then jointly beat the living daylights out of that guy.

So far, a grand total of nine employees at Foxconn, the company that manufactures all your iPhones, iPods and iPads, have committed suicide (two unsuccessfully), mostly by jumping off their dormitory. Foxconn spokespeople have so far denied sweatshop allegations, saying the employees that committed suicide all did so out of various personal reasons. One Foxconn spokesperson, speaking to Beijing TV, points to the 8,000 queueing outside the plant daily for a job at Foxconn as proof positive that the company is a desirable workplace, not a sweatshop.

UPDATE: Foxconn confirms beatings as yet another employee plunges to his death

Also read: Engadget's translation of an investigative report by Southern Weekly into working conditions at Foxconn.

Read more about Foxconn here.

Filed in News and tagged Apple, Beijing, Foxconn, Foxconn suicides, iPad, iPhone, iPod, news, suicides, video

http://mobile.shanghaiist.com/2010/05/20/foxconn-security-guards-beating.php

 

[Watchman]

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[Watchman]

Read this ........

 

[Watchman]

Foxconn “Suicides” & “Secrets”, Chinese Netizen Reactions <---http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/foxconn-suicides-secrets-chinese-netizen-reactions.html
53 commentsby Mileiux on Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Foxconn exhibition booth.

This morning, a 11th jumping occurred. Over the past week, Mileiux and I translated the below collection of Chinese netizen reactions to the recent news of Foxconn suicides, a motivational message to Foxconn employees by a man without arms, and an internet post by a person who claims to know the “dark secrets” behind the “suicides”. — Fauna

From Netease:
Jump #10 Occurred at Foxconn this Morning, 21 Year Old Worker Passed Away

Summary: Around 4am on the 21st, a 21-year-old male Foxconn employee suicide jumped from the dorms, dying from his grievous injuries. This is Foxconn’s 10th suicide jumping incident to happen so far in 2010.

 

[lianbeng]

taiwan: a renegade province of mainland china.
was and is and still will be.

 

[po2wq]

current fig is 13 ... :(

 

[Screwball]

The basic pay is only CNY900 and employees have to work tons of OT to make ends meet.

Heard that the employees have been pushed very hard by their Taiwainese supervisors which have been described by some as "Bian Tai" as they fark their employees non-stop using vulgarities.

CNY900 is very good salary for this town. I am knowing one Gong An (policeman) there and he is already 6 year veteran but is only taking home salary only CNY650. He have to moonlighting as taxi driver to make ends meet.

The real reason for the suicides is a stupid company policy that is paying 200 months salary compensation to the family of the deceased if they die at work. The mistake the company made was in paying out to the 1st suicide jumper. When news of the payout spreading, number of suicides also going up.

 

[jw5]

The compensation payout is probably the main reason, but there are other reasons as well.
It was noted that those who committed suicide were in the age range of 17 to 27, and were mainly people who had come from the countryside in other provinces.
I don't think the factory ill treats its workers, but there is certainly an element of regimentalism in the way the factory is run, given that there are close to 270,000 employees. Apparently, there are hostels, a gym, an internet cafe, a recreation centre etc for the workers, but it canot be denied that they work long hours doing repetitive tasks.
Some of these young workers can't take it, due to being away from home, not having friends and family around, to a certain extent having been spoilt at home (not in terms of wealth but in terms of attention), having long and regimental working hours, being lonely and depressed, etc.
Add to that the "copycat syndrome", the lack of respect for human life and of course the main attraction, the payout for their families, and this is the tragic outcome.

 

[Watchman]

More Foxconn Suicides: Reports of 14, 15, & 16th Jumpings
52 commentsby Fauna on Thursday, May 27, 2010
<--- http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/more-foxconn-suicide-news-reports.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chinaSMACK+%28chinaSMACK%29

From Baidu Tieba: (no longer available)
Foxconn’s 15th suicide jumper has jumped, 16th is currently on the roof

The Foxconn Longhua C4 Building double-suicide [jumping from building] is already spreading on the internet: Foxconn #14 and #15 jump, new entry, Sina Weibo [Microblog, like Twitter], latest shocking news, around 12, Foxconn Longhua C4 Building, double-suicide, scene too horrible to look at, scene sealed off. Those are the details, still need confirmation.

Foxconn’s 15th consecutive jumping has already frightened the media at the scene, with some journalists/reporters already intending to no longer follow the story. Just what exactly is the cause, being cursed or infected by pressure? Some reporters suspect Foxconn having given the families of suicide victims 400,000 [RMB] plus a 30,000 [RMB] yearly pension to the parents have led to these poverty-stricken workers to copy each other willing to use their deaths to exchange financial security for their families. This view is indeed cold-blooded, but if it is true then that is our entire society’s responsibility and tragedy. If their deaths are for the compensation, then it should be treated differently.

Foxconn latest news: 16th possible suicide jumper has climbed onto the C3 Building. [See picture]