Tuesday, October 16th 2012
Foxconn Admits to Breach of Anti- Child Labor Laws
Foxconn admitted to employing interns as young as 14 years, in what is a breach of labor laws in China, where the minimum age for such employment is 16. The company, in a statement accessed by CNET advised that it found the matter "not only a violation of China's labor law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy," and that "immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions." The company launched an investigation and promises action against permanent staff members who allowed the breach in regulations to happen. This development follows a strain of bad PR for Foxconn, which recently suffered riots in some of its facilities due to imposition of strict quality standards in manufacture of iPhone 5.
Sources:
CNET, Engadget
27 Comments on Foxconn Admits to Breach of Anti- Child Labor Laws
While I own an iPad 3 and iPhone 4S (and previously opened each version up to these, along with various Droid devices), I am no more supporting this behavior than anyone else. If your Droid Razr MAXX and Galaxy S III are made 2 factory floors away, you are not a supporter of this behavior either. If consumers had the choice we would insist our products he made here in the USA. I bought an all American muscle car for example...but despite the Detroit connection it was actually built in Canada with a HEMI forged in Mexico. Does this mean I'm supporting the Mexican drug cartels? Or that I am against the workers unions in Canada?
I would strongly encourage Apple to make their products in the US, and I would even pay MORE for them if they had been. But for now all I can do is hope, comment, and let my voice be known to Apple on the matter.
In fact I think Apple may eventually move production to the US at some point, for some products. As it stands they have just officially become a legitimate CPU designer which shows they are focusing on controlling more aspects of performance, so surely the focus on manufacturing will come at some point.
But I find it hard to believe any other vendors would take on such a risk and costly endeavor. Competition is just too fierce, and profit margins already slipping as devices get more complex. I doubt you'll see anyone else dumping the cash into something that won't pay off for awhile.