Hundreds Threaten Suicide At Microsoft Supplier Plant In China

Hundreds Threaten Suicide At Microsoft Supplier Plant In China

seattle.cbslocal.com

SEATTLE, Wash. (CBS Seattle) – Some 300 Chinese Foxconn employees who manufacture X-box 360 machines said they would throw themselves from their Wuhan, China, plant if demands for lost wages were not met.

China Jasmine Revolution, an activist revolutionary organization with a name borrowed from the Tunisian revolt that set off the Middle East unrest, reported that employees made their demands for a wage increase for 100 employees on Jan. 2.

Management at Foxconn — the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and a crucial link in the supply chains of Apple, Dell, Nintend

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Its seems they agreed to give the workers 1 months wages for every year worked.Then they did not honor this agreement and the former workers took action.
Seeing nets installed outside of the building to deter jumpers would have sent a pretty good message about where things were headed.
Also, some of the plants had workers sign a contract that said they would not commit suicide..So they know they have a problem.
Good thing is the mayor talked the people down without incident.

seattle.cbslocal.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by wutz4tom


how can they enforce a contract that would mean if they broke it they are dead

people make me laugh. good for the workers to stand up though they have it hard enough as it is. suicide is pretty extreme imho

Based on microsofts current business model.....

They will probably just issue a patch for it.

Would they really commit suicide over wages? Seems pretty counter-productive to me. BTW, who owns foxconn? Is it a Chinease company then? Maybe Microsoft shouldn't deal w/ suppliers with bad ethics...

reply to post by vogon42


haha that made me laugh. funniest thing ive heard all day

reply to post by JJRichey

well too extreme lol

would people do it?

great way to get yourself heard in a work related situation tho....we need a new coffee machine and the uniforms could do with a revamp...hmmmmm i'll text the guys in charge now and tell them what i want or ill cut my head off with the guillotine. ( that also needs replaced)

reply to post by DankKing420


yeah it does seem like foolish contract.
What a stand to have to take for your employment...Geez

Before the righteous hate starts against microsoft let me just point out that MS only buys parts from this Chinese company and does not run it. Its chinese owned and governed by chinese laws so please be logical and place the blame on China and not the companies that buy from them.

You can say that these companies shouldn't deal with this company but then all the things like Iphones, Playstations, Xbox's would cost a hell of a lot more and I'm sure the demanding western consumers would be in a rage and crying hysterically that they cannot aford the new Iphone.

reply to post by wutz4tom

Maybe we should start boycotting some products...

Due to its dominance in this specialized outsourcing sector, it is popular with European, Japanese, and American companies wishing to reduce labor costs without sacrificing quality. Well-known products Foxconn manufactures include the iPhone,[5] the iPad,[6] the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, the Wii, and the Amazon Kindle. It is the largest exporter in Greater China and the second largest exporter in the Czech Republic.

Source
We've already heard of Apple fabrication employees doing the same thing, now Microsoft, but it is probably just due to Foxconn and their business practices.

reply to post by FreeSpeaker

I don't think it has to do with Microsoft, like you state. But...if you as a company KNOW that the firm you do business with is a "bad employer" then I would like to think you have at least some hand in how or even if business is done.

Don't get me wrong, I love my ipod touch but if I had known it was made under conditions that are now coming to light, I would have avoided it like the plague.

Well this is ONE way to force a Labor Dispute. I predict China is on it's way to being told they WILL have Unions for their work force. In reading the article and other bits on this today, that is all this seems to come down to, after all. A labor dispute.

The workers are a little psycho in how far they're willing to go, but the company did make a statement about paying them this 'buy-out' of sorts if they didn't just get back to work. I don't think either side expected their bluff to be called quite like it was. Ooops.... Careful about threatening employers with your own misfortune....you may find they really don't care. After all, it's a business, not a social services agency.

HAHAHAHA!!!1
China needs a union it seems!
Maybe some of these jobs will come back to the US, let em jump.

If any of these guys do commit suicide I don't think it'll be a loss for them. They don't have to worry about their wages anymore, at least.

Also: until they have unions I think they will have to use pseudo-revolutionary groups like this one

reply to post by g146541


Unions in China

I feel horrible... just built myself a gaming computer and the motherboard is Foxconn

reply to post by wutz4tom


My thoughts are this.. some us,(or maybe many of us), dislike our jobs at times. But right now I feel as if my hands are somewhat tied. I feel fortunate to have a job.
Nobody likes feeling like they are being taken advantage of....Sometimes you have to take a stand ...But not to this extent my life is priceless.

Union(s) in China:

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions ('ACFTU; simplified Chinese: 中华全国总工会; traditional Chinese: 中華全國總工會; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Quánguó Zǒnggōng Huì), is the sole national trade union federation of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 134 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations.[2] The ACFTU is divided into 31 regional federations and 10 national industrial unions.

The Workers' Daily is the ACFTU newspaper.

All-China Federation of Trade Unions

All-China Federation of Railway Workers' Unions
National Committee of the Chinese Agricultural, Forestry and Water Conservancy Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Aviation Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Banking Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Defense Industry, Postal and Telecommunications Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Educational, Scientific, Cultural, Medical and Sports Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Energy and Chemical Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Financial, Commercial, Light Industry, Textile and Tobacco Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Material Workers' Union
National Committee of the Chinese Seamen and Construction Workers' Union

related from 2006:
How Rising Wages Are Changing The Game In China

A labor shortage has pay soaring. That is sure to send ripples around the globe.

we should be so lucky !

reply to post by g146541

Hmm...12 hours a day, 6 days a week, enforced company quarters (housing) which will be charged for whether you use it or not, Oh yes, I forgot the wages, 3 dollars a day. Interested still?

Originally posted by Gwampo
I feel horrible... just built myself a gaming computer and the motherboard is Foxconn

But will you go down to the hardware store and buy a American hammer and destroy it in support of the workers?

Maybe...but I think not.

Why waste money already spent...that's the Governments job.