In Depth: Global Marketing and Ethics (The Other Side of Apple)
Most companies include Apple, today are taking their operations global. Manufacturing in particular is being taken to China. This can mean much higher profits for a company, but there are other implications to consider here.
In the report, Apple is accused of “ignoring hazardous and unhealthy conditions at the factories in China where its components are assembled.” Employees are working excessive overtime without a single day off during the week, living together in crowded dormitories and standing so long that their legs swell and they can hardly walk after a 24-hour shift. I can’t imagine people in North America would say or complain about working over time without extra payment. Apple gives extensive pressure to its contractors to push the time of producing the products with highly standards. Due to the end, all these pressure has been pushed on its employee. Banners in the Chengdu plant gave a warning to the 120,000 staff: ‘Work hard on the job today or work hard to find a job tomorrow’. Workers who arrived late often had to write confession letters. As the result, a Foxconn employee jumped or fell from a block of flats and 18 other workers apparently tried to commit suicide in two years.
Reference:
http://goodelectronics.org/news-en/dying-young-the-foxconn-suicides-and-china2019s-booming-economy
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2092277/Apple-Poor-working-conditions-inside-Chinese-factories-making-iPads.html