Nightline Apple Special Highlights Spotless Foxconn Factories, Low Wages

ABC's Nightline went inside the Chengdu, China factories of Foxconn last night, where most of the world's iPads, iPhones, and Mac computers are produced.

The visit, which happened in conjunction with the Fair Labor Association's (FLA) , showed off spotless factory floors where thousands of workers put together various iDevices as a computerized voice chirps "OK!" after each successful move.

But workers earn only $1.78 per hour and when Nightline host Bill Weir spoke to employees, many complained about the low wages. Still, they lined up by the thousands at dawn in order to snag a job at Foxconn. And Foxconn will hire about 80 percent of the 3,000 people waiting at the gates, thanks to demand for Apple's gadgets.

Despite the minimal pay, long hours, and close quarters (workers pay $17.50 per month to live in a seven-person dorm room), Foxconn is often a better alternative to staying in rural villages. Weir visited one such village near Chengdu, where large families lived in one-room homes with very few amenities. Despite the proximity to the Foxconn plant, though, the majority had never even seen an iPad.

Back at the plant, workers are seated at long benches assembling Apple gadgets. They get a break for lunch - which runs about 70 cents per day - and many rush their meal in order to take a quick nap before the start of an afternoon shift.

Weir revealed that workers can make 300,000 iPad camera modules in a day. It takes about five days and 325 sets of hands to make an iPad, he said.

But what prompted the most interest in working conditions at Foxconn lately were the suicides - nine over a three-month period in 2010 alone. A Foxconn exec tells Weir that given the size of Foxconn, that is actually lower than the national average, but the publicity generated by the suicides prompted Apple CEO Tim Cook to travel to China and evaluate the situation. Wages were raised, a counseling center was opened, and nets were placed around the dorms to stop jumpers.

Cook actually declined to be interviewed for the Nightline special; Apple referred ABC to his recent comments at a Goldman Sachs conference, where he insisted that . Weir did speak with the FLA's Auret van Heerden, though, who for saying that boredom might be one reason for the suicides and low morale.

Another FLA worker said the headlines surrounding worker conditions are Apple's "Nike moment," referring to the controversy surrounding the athletic company's use of sweatshops. But Nike survived that and Apple will survive this, she suggested.

Apple is, of course, . At the end of the interview, Weir asks a Foxconn exec if it would be possible for Apple to use its funds to double wages at Foxconn. "Why not?" the exec responds. It would be good for China and for morale, he said.

With higher wages, Weir concludes, these workers might one day be able to afford the gadgets they make.

To watch, see the video below. What did you think? Was the special surprising or what you expected? Let us know in the comments.