Foxconn factory explosion in Chengdu region shows once again that the reality behind the advertisements and statements of high wages and quality of working conditions is completely different.
Therefore, report of the group “Students and teachers against corporate misconduct” (SACOM), shows that the workforce of Foxconn, a company working for clients such as Apple, HP or Dell, reached one million employees with strong support from the Chinese government, but most employees are young farmers from rural areas.
Although Apple praised Foxconn for the measures taken to reduce the number of suicides among employees, it seems that they continue to work in substandard conditions and wages are low.
According to SACOM analysis, conducted in early May and focused on Foxconn factories in Chengdu, Chongqing and Schenzhen many problems were reported: “Employees do not get adequate training in handling chemicals and have no doctors on site. Many employees have complained that suffer from allergies, but management has not acted in any way. Workers have indicated problems with poor ventilation and inadequate protective equipment”. Poor ventilation can be a cause of the explosion on Friday that took place in a section where chemicals are used.
Also “the workers in the polishing section complained that the department is filled with aluminum powder. While wearing gloves, their hands are all covered with dust, like their face and clothes. Some workers commented that ventilation should be improved”.
Regarding salary, SACOM study indicates that wages have actually not increased for Foxconn employees. Before March 2011, the Chengdu base salary was 950 renminbi plus 240 renminbi – money for food – and 110 renminbi – rent allowance, the increase announced in April, to 1,300 renmimbi was actually made by waiving the amount of money allocated for food and rent.
When the report was unveiled earlier this month, Foxconn told PCWorld that it is inaccurate, and the company is already taking measures to improve work safety. According to CNET, Apple had not responded at the time on the report, but after the accident on Friday, told AllThingsDigital that “it works closely with Foxconn to understand the causes that led to this terrible event”.