My Opinion on Apple, Foxconn & Employee Suicide
I’ve been reading the stories lately that discuss the recent suicide of a Chinese Foxconn employee after he was supposedly tortured and given a lot of hell of “misplacing” an iPhone prototype. You can read the entire story in multiple posts on Gizmodo or AppleInsider.
Of course the death of an employee is saddening and an eye-opening incident, I’d like to share something with you. First of all, Gizmodo seems to be the only blog that pulled the, “we only have ourselves to blame” card and I wholeheartedly agree. I encourage you to read their post on the matter.
So this all makes sense. The secrecy of Apple and our demand for leaks, secrets, photos and info on ever upcoming Apple device is fuel that caused Foxxconn to go overboard when this phone went missing. Yes, it’s just a phone.
Of course, what do I see today when I launch my RSS reader. Two stories caught my eye.
1. China Gets the iPhone…Officially
2. Report: Hon Hai to build Apple tablets as soon as September
The first post is talking about China finally getting an official carrier for Apple’s iPhone and the story ends with, “Apple’s global smartphone market share is about to get a lot bigger.” The second post is a report from AppleInsider that pieces clues together (mostly rumors) and they find that Chinese manufacturer Hon Hai will be getting the contract to build Apple’s upcoming tablet computer (which I’m very tired of hearing about).
What did I take from this observation? That Foxconn has quite a contract on their hands building iPhones for Apple and the shroud of secrecy Apple basically demands caused them to go to far, abuse and possibly torture a factory worker which resulted in his suicide. I doubt this was the first death related to Apple’s demands in the manufacturing of their products and is only the first death that became publicized. Of course, less than a week later, we have a post about how awesome it will be for China to get the iPhone and a rumor that Hon Hai is building the next tablet. I’m sure Hon Hai can’t wait to hire minimum wage workers, cram them in a factory and threaten them with abuse and garnished wages if they leak information just so the rest of the world can buy a $1200 shiny Apple tablet computer.
It’s a sick world we live in and we’re to blame for the death of this person. Trust me when I say that this won’t be the last underpaid human being who makes electronics, clothes and comforts that we Americans take for granted. I’m not saying “buy American”. I’m only saying that we should demand the companies we buy from to enforce labor laws and treat their employees with respect that we demand here in The US. If my Logitech Mouse cost $1.50 more because an employee is being treated well, then so be it but I consciously can’t enjoy my computer, iPhone or Taiwanese made bicyle knowing that someone probably suffered to build it for me.
