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Foxconn workers live in ‘prison cells’ while making iPhone 5!

AndiSeptember 13, 2012

The iPhone 5 is here! It’s lighter, thinner and more powerful, but it isn’t all that spectacular or magical unless of course you consider the price tag of the base model! The new iPhone 5 will sell for a cool $720 in Hong Kong which happens to be significantly more than the amount of money Foxconn invests in taking care of its staff for a year!

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While Apple announced all the ‘great’ new features of the lighter, thiner iPhone 5, Chineseworkers at Foxconn factories in Shenzhen South China were/are toiling away in poor conditions to get the latest Apple phones in the the pocket of fans across the world!

Foxconn worker wages and living conditions have hit the headlines all to often over the past year. Thankfully the Chinese government have taken an interest and are rolling out a pay increase for all Shenzhen electronics workers, great news! But what is being done about the working and living conditions for staff at iPhone 5 factories?

This past week an undercover reporter for a Chinese newspaper gained access to the high security, highly secretive Foxconn factory where the iPhone 5 is being produced. While there the report witnessed first hand the poor living conditions and managed to take a few photos.

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Dormitory rooms at Foxconn’s iPhone 5 factory sleep as many as 12 people on cold steel beds in what can only be described as large prison cells with concrete floors!

They have even placed bars on the windows to complete the ‘prison cell’ theme going!

It is estimated that the cost of housing 12 Foxconn staff who manufacture the iPhone 5 could be as little as $1000 per year, which is roughly the same price as a 32GB iPhone 5 once it launches in Hong Kong and mainland China!

So before heading out to the Apple store on the iPhone 5 launch day, 21st September, to pick up your newApple iPhone 5, spare a thought for the hundreds of Chineseworkers huddled together on their steel beds and working for peanuts who made it all happen!

Image source

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About the author
Andi

BAN APPLE PRODUCTS n GO FOR ANDROID!
ThinkOutsideTheBox
September 13, 2012
This is sad, are they not allowed to leave? I’ll remember this, another reason why I’m buying a clone phone, I’ll never buy an apple product. Android FTW, i’ll even go with Windows phone 8 before Apple, and those phones look amazing from what i’ve seen online.
- September 13, 2012
  @ThinkOutsideTheBox The Foxconn factories are pretty self sufficient i.e they have stores and restaurants etc so that the workers don’t need to leave. The idea is to keep them there as much as they can so no one is able to spill any Apple secrets. Actually Sony and Dell manufacture and Foxconn too!

September 13, 2012
How the hell does no one talk about this on the networks such as cnn, bbc, aljazera etc?
Is apple having some underhand tactics with the people and agencies that matter in the world?
This is messed up
Randy Fabros
September 13, 2012
Because there was so much hype about How “great” the new Iphone is going to be and forgot about the people who make it and plus big corporations have the money to cover up this filth….. Thank you for those independent journalist who had the balls to do a story like this….

Charlie
September 13, 2012
This is unbalanced journalism.
1) The Foxconn living quarters are standard fare in manufacturing companies in China. For the people living here, these conditions do not necessarily reflect poor living conditions vis-a-vis also the sacrifice needed to earn a living. You can’t compare these quarters with first world dorm conditions where standards and expectations are probably different.
2) The picture of the bars on the balconies are deceptive and are being used to support the “prison” spin of this article. The person does not know the history of suicides by jumping on the ledges in Foxcon in the recent past. But these were not caused by overworked or despair but a more complex reason and benefit loophole where people who die on the job get an unusual golden handshake benefit for their families, and some persons took the plunge for their families to benefit. call it sick but you have to understand the mind of some poor workers who come here to work.
3) I think many of these issues are currently being resolved by Foxconn management with the help of Apple and its high end customers such as Dell, etc.
4) Perpetuating this kind of journalism is more often than not motivated by other reasons, possibly from competitors, ignorance, biased reporting etc.
these are my two cents worth being a foreigner now based in china

Freeje
September 13, 2012
@Charlie. So it’s ok to buy a phone knowing that it was produced by slave labor? Take a look at this -http://www.gizmochina.com/2012/09/11/chinese-journalists-working-undercover-at-foxconn/.
Ok, maybe it’s not only Apple but other companies too but heck I like bashing Crapple.
Guest
September 13, 2012
Not a good publicity for Apple.
Guest
September 13, 2012
BAN APPLE PRODUCTS n GO FOR ANDROID!

andres
September 13, 2012
this type of news are traveling time ago, owners of Apple products are still contributing to this acts to treat people like slave, yes sir, you are guilty too!
Guest
September 13, 2012
This is sad, are they not allowed to leave? I’ll remember this, another reason why I’m buying a clone phone, I’ll never buy an apple product. Android FTW, i’ll even go with Windows phone 8 before Apple, and those phones look amazing from what i’ve seen online.
- Guest
  September 13, 2012
  @ThinkOutsideTheBox The Foxconn factories are pretty self sufficient i.e they have stores and restaurants etc so that the workers don’t need to leave. The idea is to keep them there as much as they can so no one is able to spill any Apple secrets. Actually Sony and Dell manufacture and Foxconn too!

Guest
September 13, 2012
Apple is a sect just for snobs
Anywho
September 13, 2012
I’m not you all understand how the markets work. Without the jobs apple give them, they’d have nothing. People are working because they chose too. They could go work for someone else than Apple. I don’t like Apple, but this is voluntary by those workers.
Anywho
September 13, 2012
As a bonus, here’s a video explaining minimum wage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMMN3UIQmEk

andres
September 13, 2012
“because they chose too”???… They chose that becuse the need it! “Anywho”, where do you live? did you feel the need of work once in your life? people without work will be desperate to get one, and APPLE and FOXCONN take this advantage of the situation.

Xatix
September 13, 2012
@All Apple Haters
I think it is sad, that you are bashing Apple, because Foxconn is also the main producer of hundreds of company’s electronics, like HP, Amazon, Samsung, Toshiba (Yes, your glory Galaxy S III & yourKindle Fire is produced there too).
No one cares about that, except, when it is about apple. Hypocrites!
Xatix
September 13, 2012
And btw, at least apple tried to make the situation better in the last years, unlike other companies.

andres
September 13, 2012
Xatix, “apple tried to make the situation better”, yes why? because the news was on TVs and Internet.
why all the world is talking about it and not about HP, Samsung, etc? because Apple is one of the best client of Foxconn 🙂
also I don’t hate Apple, I don’t have one because is really expensive in my country, only to high end society can buy it(any APPLE product is priced more than a common salary)
then, I prefer cheaps and excellent android chinese phones! 🙂
ThinkOutsideTheBox
September 13, 2012
@Xatix, it’s true that other companies have their products made by Foxconn, but it seems like news about the employees only comes out when a new Apple product is being made. I personally believe that they go through more “stress” when it comes to Apple products, just look at how they made the University students help with production instead of attending to their school work.

Guest
September 13, 2012
How the hell does no one talk about this on the networks such as cnn, bbc, aljazera etc?
Is apple having some underhand tactics with the people and agencies that matter in the world?
This is messed up
Guest
September 13, 2012
Because there was so much hype about How “great” the new Iphone is going to be and forgot about the people who make it and plus big corporations have the money to cover up this filth….. Thank you for those independent journalist who had the balls to do a story like this….
popo
September 13, 2012

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Andi

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