Apple is best known for its IPhone’s, Ipad’s and other technological gadgets but have consumers ever taken into consideration of how these products are made? Inside Apple’s production factory in Shenzhen, China, not only are workers underpaid at a salary of US$2 an hour, but they are also working in factories in terrible conditions. The workers in these factories are deprived of their basic human rights due to lack of enforcement of labour laws in China. Some workers have shifts up to 10 hours with only washroom or short food breaks. They are unable to leave the factory for a fresh breath of air, and many are forced to stand for the entire work shift. In fact, they would be severely punished or wages deducted if they disobey company laws. At the Shenzhen facility, 18 workers have committed suicide.
Apple has taken advantage of the fact that many unemployed Chinese would do whatever it takes to land a job, and consumers worldwide have also benefitted from lower prices in the latest gadgets, but at what cost? In order to maximize corporate profits and consumer loyalty, the rights and privileges of Chinese workers are sacrificed. The existence of these sweatshops violate business ethics in every way; however, the perpetrators are not just multinational companies, but also consumers, some of whom may claim to be environmentally friendly or socially progressive yet indirectly participate in the continuous abuse of human rights elsewhere.
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