Slashdot Mirror
Judging The Apple 'Sweatshop' Charge
jurgen writes "MacWorld summarizes an article published in the U.K., stating that Apple's iPods are made in China by women who work 15 hours/day, make $50/month, and have to pay half of that right back to the company for housing and food. The article also claims the workers live in dormitories where they are housed 100 per room, and are not allowed visitors." A Wired article looks at the same story, exploring the reliability of the Mail on Sunday's claims. From that article: "The situation is too murky for a rush to judgment on Apple's ethics here, and it may well meet minimum global standards. But for a company that has staked its image on progressive politics, Apple has set itself up as a potential lightning rod on global labor standards. Sweatshops came back to bite Nike after its customers rose up in arms; and Apple can expect a similar grilling from its upscale Volvo-driving fans in the months ahead."
You want cheap consumer electronic goods? That's what happens i'm afraid. Their manufacture will be farmed out to the cheapest bidder. And don't just think it's Apple doing this, it's all the big electronics companies. Hell it's not even just electronics, take the dairy industry. Farmers want a fair price for thier milk, the big supermarkets want cheap milk so you shop at their shops. So the big chains force the farmers into taking less money.
- Reports about someone earning "X" per month are meaningless out of context. How much, exactly, do other workers in their locale earn? What is the overall cost of living? (Yes, I'm aware that the article makes reference to food and rent consuming "half" their salary.)
Perhaps tech workers are in a different situation, but until I got my current job (six weeks ago), food and rent was consuming more than half of my wages, and I was making better money than most people I know. Think of someone on minimum wage, making $8/hr working 30 hours/wk in Montreal, where rent is likely to cost you $300-400, food is likely to cost $100 if you're lucky, public transit is another $70, heating is $100/mo in winter, and in a bad month, you're suddenly paying $700 in recurring bills on $960/mo before taxes. I'm finally in a situation where food and shelter isn't taking the vast majority of my wages, and I'm breathing a lot easier because of it.
I read an article a week or so ago where someone mentioned that these sweat shops are welcomed by the local populace. Instead of selling their daughters into prostitution, people can get jobs at these factories, earning more money than they'd ever dreamed of, feeding their families well, and being far better off than they ever hoped, because of the huge disparity between our cost of living and theirs. These jobs are highly prized, and everyone wants their crack at them. By our standards, they're not fantastic, and it would be great if we could pay them all $20k/yr for their work, but think of what would happen if we did.
If we paid these people wages that are 'acceptable' by North American standards, without thinking about what the local income is, then the entire economical balance in the area would be destroyed. Suddenly, you would have people making tens or hundreds of times more than anyone else in their area, bringing in huge amounts of income. With the market prices in the areas, the people would have no normal outlet for their expenditures, so they would either end up buying up all the land, farms, and businesses in the area, or just stockpiling money. Great for the banks, bad for inflation. When market prices begin to rise because the income of these nouveau riche is destroying the balance, everyone who doesn't have one of these jobs is going to be SOL, because they won't be able to afford the cost of living in this new economy.
So before you make judgements for Apple contracting out to a company that hires a poor populace, take the time to find out the facts.
I was in Vietnam a year ago and found I could have taken one month of my earnings here and lived for nicely for quite a while there. A very filling nutritious meal at a restaurant was only the equivalant of $0.20. My wife and I bought a Viet drink for 17 people and still spent less than what one would cost us here in the states. I forgot to bring a pair of sandals to shower in so I just bought some for ~$0.50. I also purchased two shirts, a pair of pants and a pair of shorts for $1.45. I never asked how much homes cost exactly but my wifes parents sent her aunt $1000 and she used it to nearly triple the size of her home.
I realize that was out in the jungles of Vietnam, but I can't imagine China is much different. People throw out conditions and numbers like they mean anything on their own. There does come a point where context is irrelavant, such as when employees are beaten, or used as sex slaves, but that's not the case here and context means a lot.
If the cost of living is anything like what I saw in Vietnam, $50/month with half going to housing and food sounds just fine. Also 15 hours/day doesn't sound bad. My wife's family in Vietnam do that easily and they are some of the happiest people I know. Heck, my wife's mom does that here in the states and she's a very happy lady.
This whole article rings hollow.
Stop Global Warming!
Just say no to irreversible processes!
Apple should pay the company which makes Apple's product enough money and enforce that any company they do business with pays their employees a living wage.
And do tell, what is a living wage in their region? Just because you need $50,000/year + to live in your area, doesn't mean that $50/month is not enough in their area. Does the article state what conditions are like there? Do they even try? No, it is sensationalist.
And before we go off and say it is all wrong, let's take a moment to consider that they need to slowly build up to a state of higher living conditions. If you suddenly threw in a bunch of money into their economy, you would royally screw it up with the end result being worse than now.
Stop Global Warming!
Just say no to irreversible processes!
They also had Einstein and Jim Henson, and I've never heard Apple is working on theoretical Physics or making puppets...
30 hours/week is where you went wrong.
These people are working 15 hours per DAY . By tuesday they'd be done working in your cozy world.
Also, I'm guessing that your half-your-pay apartment is not shared with 100 other people in bunks, mandated by your company as a condition of keeping your job. But that's just a guess.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking