David Kuo's Blog

As we all may know, companies often turn to opening their factories overseas. Manufacturing overseas brings to the table obvious benefits, such as lower costs. It also raises an issue of ethics due to their laxer policing of laws – workers and wages. Apple’s outsource manufacturer Foxconn hires intern students from vocational schools to produce Apple’s products. The issue is, these interns work upwards of 60 hours per week and paid a minimum wage of 1,550 yuan ($245) per month.

This raises a question of ethics. Are workers treated fairly?

I’d say no. Due to labor laws in China being reinforced less strictly compared to Canada, the amount of hours these interns are given is astounding – up to 100 hours of overtime per month. The wages these interns earn are much, much lower than what one would earn here at Canada – especially with the amount of hours these interns work. The issue of fair pay arises, and if they were paid fairly, much less working hours would be demanded and job openings could appear. Profit for the business is also a concern.

What we need is a fine balance between the two.

For more information check the CTV News article, and FLA site.

Related Link: http://www.fairlabor.org/press-release/foxconn_verification_report