From iLounge.com:
...the newspaper’s report reveals that an iPod plant in Longhua houses 200,000 workers, who work 15-hour days for $50 per month. The workers reportedly live in dormitories that house 100 people each, and that outside visitors are not permitted. The Mail reports that the iPod nano is made in a five-story factory that is secured by police officers. The article also says that workers at an iPod shuffle factory in Shanghai are housed outside the plant, and earn $100 per month—but that they must pay for their housing and food, “which takes up half their salaries.”
Not all that surprising really. The iPod is this decade's shoe. A single iPod shuffle (512MB) sells for $90CDN so that basically pays off a worker's salary for a month. I'm guessing each worker makes quite a few shuffles a day. Sad.
Comments (1)
That kind of thing makes me angry. Yes, cost of living is cheeper and it may be a competitive wage. Yes, for those given housing, this may be their only opportunity for having a place to live. That aside and I would like to ask why companies that make so very much money cannot set a little more aside for primary workers and improve the world that these workers come from instead of maintaining the status quo. I think the minimal requirement, ethically, for these kind of factories should be life improvement for the workers and the countries.
This should be the bare minimal for these companies.
Now, remember that the Dell positions were so covetted in India that people would kill people just so there would be job openings. The world situation is a very complicated one.
Oh, and the guards are just necessary. I wouldn't blaim them for hiring a small army.
Posted by Markio![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mennoboy.com/chris/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 12, 2006 9:55 AM
Posted on June 12, 2006 09:55