China’s Poverty, Inhumane Work, and The U.S Economy

Djery Clement

Technology is Moving Fast

• Wii• Xbox 360• iPhone• iPad• iKindle• MacBook Pro

We Can’t Live Without Them!

But wait…?

Where do they all come from?

Look No Farther than China

The Ominous Foxconn Factories

pcworld.com

Made by Employees, Not Machines

http://www.nicaraguanbugle.com/2012/09/25/2000-workers-riot-in-foxconn-factory-

in-china/

Cramped Living Conditions

• 10 people a room• Constant surveillance• Restricted activities• Mandatory Rent

Work Management

• Working 10-12 hours a day• Low wages• Constant pressure• Everyday humiliation• Cruel treatment

The average American can afford to pay $321 for an iPhone…

… But a Foxconn worker has to work for 3 months to afford one

No escape…

http://www.daa.org.uk/index.php?mact=Blogs,cntnt01,showentry,0&cntnt01entryid=318&cntnt01returnid=98

Constant pressure…

Suicide is the only way out

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-05-27/tech/29964714_1_foxconn-suicide-nets

Workers choose to jump from Foxconn windows…

chinaworker.info

Or hang themselves . . .

Foxconn’s Solution

• Nets around factories• Contracts preventing suicide

http://svtc.org/blog/advocacy/the-foxconn-suicides/

Even Worse…

Foxconn have been using students and interns

impunitywatch.com

They are told they will not graduate if they don’t work

Students’ Working Conditions

• 70% of an adult’s pay• Dismissed from education• Working overnight up to 10 hours

http://www.mactrast.com/2012/09/report-chinese-students-are-being-forced-to-intern-in-foxconn-factories/

At the Same Time…

The government is working together with Foxconn for profit, using these very students!!

Some students have even resorted to suicide

Foxconn’s revenue

$117.5 billion

But they can’t even pay attention to their workers well-being

And all of that profit goes to increase the U.S. economy

Surely there must be a solution…

Improving the working conditions of the employees…

…wouldn’t be a bad place to start!