Foxconn suicides

The Foxconn suicides occurred at the so-called "Foxconn City" industrial park in Shenzhen, China.[1] The 18[2] attempted suicides by Foxconn (Chinese: 富士康) employees resulted in 14 deaths—the company was the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer at the time.[2][3][4] The suicides drew media attention, and employment practices at Foxconn were investigated by several of its customers, including Apple and Hewlett-Packard (HP).[5] Foxconn is a major manufacturer that serves high-profile consumer electronics firms such as Dell, Motorola, Nintendo, Nokia, and Sony.[5]

Suicides

Although the number of workplace suicides at the company in 2010 was large in absolute terms, the rate is low when compared to the rest of China.[6] (The country has a high suicide rate with over 20 deaths per 100,000 persons.[7]) In 2010, the worst year for workplace suicides at Foxconn with a total of 14 deaths, its employee count was a reported 930,000 people.[8]

Pre-2010

While 2010 was a remarkable year for the company in terms of the suicide rate, employee suicides have occurred at Foxconn in other years as well.

English name Chinese name Sex Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Mr. HouUnknown; Family name: 侯Male1918 Jun 2007 Hung himself in a company bathroom.[9][10] Deceased
Sun Dan-yong孙丹勇Male2516 Jul 2009 Fell from apartment building[11] after losing an iPhone prototype in his possession.[12] Prior to death, he claimed he was beaten and his residence searched by Foxconn employees.[12] Deceased

2010

An estimated 18 Foxconn employees attempted suicide in 2010,[2] with a minimum of 14 deaths.[2][3][4]

English name Chinese name Sex Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Ma Xiang-qian 马向前[13] Male 19 23 Jan 2010 Fell from building[14] perhaps as a result of a family dispute[5] Deceased
Mr. Li Unknown; Family name: 李[13] Male 28[5] 11 Mar 2010 Fell from building[15] Unknown
Tian Yu 田玉[13] Female 17 17 Mar 2010 Fell from building[15] Paralyzed from waist down[2]
Mr. Lau Unknown; Family name: 刘[13] Male 23 29 Mar 2010 Fell from building[15] Unknown
Rao Shu-qin 饶淑琴 Female 18[5] 6 Apr 2010 Fell from building[15] Survived[5]
Ms. Ning Unknown; Family name: 宁 Female 18 7 Apr 2010 Fell from building.[15] Deceased[5]
Lu Xin 卢新[13] Male 24 6 May 2010 Fell from building[15] Deceased[16]
Zhu Chen-ming 祝晨明[13] Female 24 11 May 2010 Fell from building[17] Deceased[5]
Liang Chao 梁超[13] Male 21 14 May 2010 Fell from building[18] Deceased[5]
Nan Gan 南刚[13] Male 21 21 May 2010 Fell from building[19] Deceased[5]
Li Hai 李海 Male 19 25 May 2010 Fell from building[20] Deceased[5]
Mr. He Unknown; Family name: 贺[13] Male 23 26 May 2010 Fell from building[21] Unknown
Mr. Chen Unknown; Family name: 陈[13] Male 25 27 May 2010 Suicide Deceased[13]
Mr. Liu Unknown; Family name: 刘 Male1820 Jul 2010 Fell from the sixth floor of a dormitory building[22][23] Deceased[23]
Unknown Unknown Male23[24]5 Nov 2010 Fell from building[25][26] Deceased[26]

2011

English name Chinese name Sex Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Wang LingUnknownFemale257 Jan 2011Jumped from building after being sent to a psychiatric hospitalDeceased[27]
UnknownUnknownMale2026 May 2011 Fell from building. Died in Deyuan town, Chengdu (possibly in Pi County) Deceased[28]
Mr. CaiUnknown; Family name: 蔡Male21[29] July 2011[30] Fell from building at Shenzhen plant.[30] Deceased
Li RongyingUnknownFemale2023 November 2011Fell from building Deceased[31]

2012

English name Chinese name Sex Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
UnknownUnknownMale23 14 June 2012 Fell from buildingDeceased[32]

2013

English name Chinese name Sex Age Suicide attempt date Description Status
Xu LizhiUnknownMale24 24 April 2013 Fell from buildingDeceased[33]
UnknownUnknownFemale23 27 April 2013 Fell from buildingDeceased[33]

2016

Eva Dou of the Wall Street Journal reported the suicide of a 31-year old night shift worker at Foxconn's production building in Zhengzhou on 18 August 2016.[34]

Analysis

Labor activists stated the suicides supported their assertion that numerous labor abuses take place at Foxconn.[35] However, economic conditions external to the company also might have been influential—during the same year, several major strike actions at other high-profile manufacturers occurred in China, and the Lewisian turning-point is a macro-economic factor that might provide context for the events.[36]

One expert claimed that employees were treated comparatively well at Foxconn. Boy Lüthje, of Germany's Institute of Social Research, told the Economist publication that the company pays the minimum monthly wage of 900 yuan (US$130), food and accommodation are free, and free recreational facilities are also accessible. However, the publication noted that overtime, in excess of the 36 hours a month allowed by Chinese law, was routinely demanded from employees.[37]

The suicide rate at Foxconn during 2010 remained lower than that of the general Chinese population at the time[6] as well as all 50 states of the United States.[38]

Response

Foxconn clients

Apple issued a public statement about the suicides, and company spokesperson Steven Dowling said: "[Apple is] saddened and upset by the recent suicides at Foxconn... A team from Apple is independently evaluating the steps they are taking to address these tragic events, and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made." The statement was released after the results from the company's probe into its suppliers' labor practices were published in early 2010. Foxconn was not specifically named in the report, but Apple identified a series of serious labor violations of labor laws, including Apple's own rules, and some child labor existed in a number of factories.[35]

Apple committed to the implementation of changes following the suicides, but was again in the media in December 2014 for labor issues at another factory of a Chinese supplier. On this occasion, a reporter said that Apple was continuing to "repeatedly" break the promises made after Foxconn in 2010.[39]

Reports

The 2010 suicides prompted 20 Chinese universities to compile an 83-page report on Foxconn, which they described as a "labour camp." Interviews of 1,800 Foxconn workers at 12 factories found evidence of illegal overtime and failure to report accidents. The report also criticized Foxconn's management style, which it called inhumane and abusive.[3][3] Additionally, long working hours,[37] discrimination of mainland Chinese workers by their Taiwanese coworkers,[40] and a lack of working relationships[41] were all presented as potential problems in the university report.

A Hong Kong nonprofit, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, also produced a report on Foxconn employee mistreatment at the end of 2010.[42] This Hong Kong based entity has regularly produced material critical of Foxconn and can be considered biased.

A 2012 audit of Foxconn performed by the Fair Labor Association, at the request of Apple Inc., suggested that workplace accidents might be commonplace, and that workers may consider overtime pay insufficient.[43]

Foxconn

The chairman of Foxconn, Terry Gou, made the following statement at a press conference focused on the controversy: "We are certainly not running a sweatshop. We are confident we'll be able to stabilize the situation soon. A manufacturing team of 800,000 people is very difficult to manage." At the time of the company's press conference, the factory in which the deaths occurred employed up to 300,000 people.[35][44]

In response to the suicides, Foxconn substantially increased wages for its Shenzhen factory workforce,[45] installed suicide-prevention netting,[46] brought in Buddhist monks to conduct prayer sessions inside the factory,[37] and asked employees to sign no-suicide pledges.[47] Workers were also required to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing that they and their descendants would not sue the company as a result of unexpected death, self-injury, or suicide.[48]

Protests

In May 2010, the Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) group held a protest in the lobby of Foxconn's Hong Kong headquarters. Around 25 protestors laid mannequins to rest and conducted funeral rites, while a spokesperson informed the media and onlookers: "We are staging the protest because of the high death rate [at Foxconn], with an abnormal number of workers committing suicide in the past five months".[44] Activists from the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions were also present and held signs that read: "Foxconn lacks a conscience" and "Suicide is no accident." They also burned cardboard cutouts resembling iPhones.[35]

The family of Ma Xianqian, one of the dead workers, protested outside the Foxconn factory. On 28 May 2010, demonstrators protested outside Hon Hai’s Taipei headquarters laying flowers for those who had died at the Foxconn plant. Taiwan unions and labor activists were also present at the Taipei protest, and displayed banners that displayed Chinese text that translate into English as: "For wealth and power—physical and mental health spent, hopes lost" and "For profit of the brand—youth spent, dreams shattered."[49]

8 June 2010, the date of Foxconn’s Annual General Meeting, saw student protesters from an anti-Foxconn Hong Kong non-profit, Hong Kong labor unions, and rights groups demonstrated outside a Hong Kong Apple store.[49]

A small group of young organizers picketed at an Apple store in San Francisco on 17 June 2010. The protesters carried placards showing the names and ages of the dead workers.[49]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paul Mozur (19 December 2012). "Life Inside Foxconn's Facility in Shenzhen". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lau, Mimi (15 December 2010). "Struggle for Foxconn girl who wanted to die". South China Morning Post. Wuhan, Hubei.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Tam, Fiona (11 October 2010). "Foxconn factories are labour camps: report". South China Morning Post.
  4. 1 2 Pomfret, James (5 Nov 2010). "Foxconn worker plunges to death at China plant: report". Reuters.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Jason Dean (27 May 2010). "Apple, H-P to Examine Asian Supplier After String of Deaths at Factory". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Suicides at Foxconn: Light and Death". The Economist. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  7. ↑ "China's suicide rate 'among highest in world'". The Independent. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Foxcon Plans To Increase China Workforce to 1.3 Million". Focus Taiwan News Channel. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  9. ↑ "[血债二]2007年6月18日 富士康一名女工在厕所上吊自杀-百度和讯财经网". Finance.baidu.com. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  10. ↑ "富士康员工意外事件频发_新民网_为民分忧 与民同乐". News.xinmin.cn. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  11. ↑ He, Huifeng (28 July 2009). "Payout over man's iPhone suicide". South China Morning Post.
  12. 1 2 IPhone Maker in China Is Under Fire After a Suicide nytimes.com, 26 July 2009
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Eastweek magazine. Vol 334. 6 June 2010 issue. pg 13.
  14. ↑ Sina.com. "Sina.com." 富士康馬向前系墜亡 警方不予立案. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wenweipo.com. "Wenweipo.com." 深陷「跳樓門」富士康首度檢討. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  16. ↑ Behind the shiny screen ZDNet.com.au, 14 December 2010
  17. ↑ Nownews.com. "Nownews.com." 富士康重點培訓幹部　盧新無法忘情音樂選擇自殺. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  18. ↑ Anhuinews.com. "Anhuinews.com." 家屬稱梁超是“被自殺”. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  19. ↑ Wenweipo.com. "Wenweipo.com." 富士康員工最怕領導罵 曾被告知跳樓賠10萬. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  20. ↑ Chinanews.com.cn. "Chinanews.com.cn." 富士康發生今年“第11跳” 死者宿舍內留下遺書. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  21. ↑ Yahoo.com. "Yahoo.com." 富士康第12跳確認為自殺. Retrieved on 2010-10-10.
  22. ↑ "Another Foxconn worker falls to death in China". BBC News. 20 July 2010.
  23. 1 2 "Worker Death Tally Rises at Foxconn China". ABC News. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
  24. ↑ Zhuang, Pinghui (6 November 2010). "Another suicide as Foxconn faces more flak". South China Morning Post.
  25. ↑ Pomfret, James (5 November 2010). "Foxconn worker plunges to death at China plant: report". Reuters.
  26. 1 2 "Foxconn Suicide Returns, Another Foxconn Employee Falls to Death (updated with video!)".
  27. ↑ Chang, Chris (13 January 2011). "New Suicide From Foxconn, Worker Jumped Because of Insult". M.I.C. Gadget. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  28. ↑ Huang, Cary (27 May 2011). "Foxconn worker in Chengdu suicide". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. p. 6.
  29. ↑ "Foxconn employee jumps to his death in Shenzhen". Taipei Times. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  30. 1 2 "Cna English News". Focustaiwan.tw. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  31. ↑ "Worker commits suicide at Foxconn plant". China Daily. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  32. ↑ Jim, Clare (14 Jun 2012). "Foxconn says plant worker jumps from apartment". reuters.com. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  33. 1 2 http://english.sina.com/china/p/2013/0501/587095.html
  34. ↑ Latest Foxconn Worker Deaths Build Case for Apple to Move Operations from China, accessed 28 August 2016
  35. 1 2 3 4 William Foreman (26 May 2010). "Tech: Apple Supplier Foxconn Suffers 10th Death This Year, Asks Workers To Sign Anti-Suicide Pledge". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  36. ↑ For other 2010 strikes, see "Strikes signal end to cheap labor". China Daily. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  37. 1 2 3 "Suicides at Foxconn Light and death". The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  38. ↑ "Foxconn suicide rate is lower than in the US, says Apple's Steve Jobs". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  39. ↑ "Apple under fire again for working conditions at Chinese factories". The Guardian. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  40. ↑ 富士康管治双重标准 员工有冤上诉无门
  41. ↑ Moore, Malcolm (16 May 2010). "What has triggered the suicide cluster at Foxconn? – Telegraph Blogs". London: Blogs.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  42. ↑ Sacom.hk. "Sacom.hk." Workers as Machines: Military Management in Foxconn. Retrieved on 2010-12-18.
  43. ↑ Williams, Matt (29 March 2012). "Foxconn audit finds illegal overtime and unpaid wages at Apple factory". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  44. 1 2 Malcolm Moore (25 May 2010). "Protest at Chinese iPad maker Foxconn after 11th suicide attempt this year". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  45. ↑ Foxconn suspends operation at a facility in India reuters.com, Mon 26 Jul, 2010
  46. ↑ Foxconn Rallies Workers, Leaves Suicide Nets in Place (Updated) wired.com's Epicenter blog, 18 August 2010
  47. ↑ "Chinese Factory asks for 'no suicide' vow". MSNBC. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  48. ↑ Malone, Andrew; Jones, Richard (6 December 2010). "Revealed: Inside the Chinese Suicide Sweatshop Where Workers Toil in 34-Hour Shifts To Make Your iPod". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  49. 1 2 3 Jenny Chan, Ngai Pun. "Suicide as Protest for the New Generation of Chinese Migrant Workers: Foxconn, Global Capital, and the State". The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. The Asia-Pacific Journal. Retrieved 20 December 2014.

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