Photos of Chinese Sweatshop Used By Microsoft

MongooseCN has a follow-up to last week's Chinese Sweatshop story. He says "The image Microsoft doesn't want you to see: Too tired to stay awake. These Chinese workers earn just 34p an hour (about 52 cents in US dollars), work 15-hour shifts, and deal with other abuses to package US-made products."

Comments

Re:Say what?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

No, you clearly don't get it. China is this monstrous COMMUNIST country that survives on slave labor and censorship. Through constant, massive propaganda campaigns, the Chinese government is preparing its citizens for WAR with the West.

They have nuclear weapons, and have been hacking American government networks. They are evil, and should be feared at all cost.

Re:Who cares?

[c6gunner]

No, that isn't what you said. Reread your post if you've forgotten.

Uh. Wha?

You were the one who first stated that 'idealistic fools' will always run a corporation into the ground, how is responding with a counter example not germane to the discussion?

Because it's not a counter example?

If I make a statement about "idealistic fools", how is it a counter-example to talk about someone who, by your own claim, is NOT an idealistic fool?

However, I do blame the fat cats, who tend to be sociopathic or narcissistic tyrants.

That's just flat-out ignorant. How many have you known? How many studies can you link to which show a positive correlation between running successful corporations and being a sociopath?

I don't mind you pulling opinions out of your ass, but at least provide a disclaimer.

No one should have power over others, except to some extent, parents over their children.

So no bosses? No teachers? No judges? No religious leaders? No celebrities?

Being wealthy should give you comfort, and a cushion against hard times, but it should not allow you to dictate terms to the poor and desperate.

So, anything that the poor and desperate ask for, they should get?

"I want a 4 hour work week and $100,000 per year"

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to come in for at least 20 hours, and your pay will be $50,000"

"YOU CAN'T DICTATE TERMS TO ME!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE??? Mr. Spun says you're an evil sociopath!"

Re:More to it than naps, RTFA.

[Bigjeff5]

They are not allowed to talk or listen to music, are forced to eat substandard meals from the factory cafeterias, have no bathroom breaks during their shifts and must clean the toilets as discipline, according to the NLC.

And a /.er that has been to the KYE factory said they take regular bathroom breaks and about one in four listen to music, so while the official "rule" is that such things are prohibited, in reality they aren't.

The workers also sleep on site, in factory dormitories, with 14 workers to a room. They must buy their own mattresses and bedding, or else sleep on 28in-wide plywood boards. They 'shower' with a sponge and a bucket.

Did you know that that it is common in China (and much of Asia) to sleep on hard wood mats with little more than a few blankets thrown over top? I know a Japanese professor at my local University who sleeps on a wooden crate with a thin, soft cushion on top. I could never get to sleep on something that hard. He's far from poor, it's just how he likes it. A lot of Asians believe sleeping on a hard mat keeps your spine nice and straight, so it is very common. While not providing any blankets is inconsiderate, it's a far cry from torture. Also, most Asians show with a sponge and bucket - sweatshop or no sweatshop. It's just how they bathe over there. They usually soak in a tub of hot water after, but that is only to relax after they are clean.

So really, the only valid complaints are that the staff is mean to the workers (and they are), that their restrictions on coming and going are ridiculous (and they are), and that the dormitories are overcrowded (sounds like they probably are). All the rest of it is bullshit. The "so tired they fall asleep at their station" is nonsense - they get an hour and a half lunch every day, 45 minutes of which they spend sleeping. This is very common practice in China.

If you read the report, it's an incredibly biased anti-Microsoft bash piece. They don't even mention the dozens of other US companies who have their equipment manufactured there (which account for more than two thirds of the work at the factory) until halfway through the report, and even then it's only briefly - everyone is a "Microsoft worker". It's total BS.

The real problem is Chinese culture which encourages this behavior. They want to be seen as the cheapest place to put to work, and they have a billion-man job pool to pull from to get it done. Until workers rise up against it things won't change one bit. In the mean time, it is unfair to hold Microsoft responsible for Chinese cultural issues.