Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 might be the talk of the town right now, but in a couple of weeks, that conversation will undoubtedly shift to the iPhone 7. And while Apple's upcoming device will very likely not be a big upgrade over the iPhone 6S, it's still going to sell very well nonetheless, because, well, it's Apple.
With massive demand, however, comes pressure to produce. And sadly, Chinese factory workers have once again fallen victim to this whole global mass manufacturing cycle. Eva Dou of the Wall Street Journal has a stirring report about two deaths last week at the Foxconn production building, aka where most of the world's iPhones and iPads are assembled. One of the victims, like several others before, took his own life after work. And while it's possible that Foxconn's notoriously stressful and tough working conditions contributed to his decision to jump off the top floor of the company's Zhengzhou building, it's impossible to decipher the exact reason. Maybe his death had nothing to do with his job.
But the same can't be said, however, for the other victim, a woman named Cheng Huifang. As Dou reports, a Foxconn worker was struck and hit by a train on his way to work on August 19. Why was he struck?
Well...
On Fri, dozens of Foxconn's poorest workers climbed across a railway to try to get to work amid flooding. One died https://t.co/Ul569cfJzy
— Eva Dou (@evadou) August 21, 2016
Foxconn docks bonuses if you don't show up for work, even for bad weather — Eva Dou (@evadou) August 21, 2016
These deaths once again shine a light on Foxconn's harsh working conditions, in which poor factory workers are paid measly wages and forced to work overtime -- sometimes 14 hours a day, seven days a week -- to build Apple products that are then sold at high prices to consumers (like I've written before, the bargain value of Xiaomis and OnePluses makes it very hard to justify paying US$800 plus for Apple or Samsung phones).
According to WSJ, Foxconn had brought on board tens of thousands of new staff recently specifically to assemble the iPhone 7. In Apple's defense, they've begun policing its supplier's conduct since the first slew of Foxconn deaths in 2010 -- including annual audits of factories -- and it's also worth mentioning that Apple is hardly the only major company that do business with a troubling supply chain, and Foxconn also assemble other products (though The Atlantic pointed out in a 2012 report that most Foxconn incidents have been from the Apple assembly line). But still, there's no doubt that the world's most valuable company can do more. Sure, it'd cut into profits - but Apple is worth US$775 billion.
This is why Japanese phone maker Freetel's plan to move its assembly line to Japan, despite pricier costs, should be applauded.
Of course, all of this ultimately falls on China's labor laws. And as this Wired report from last year pointed out, improving China's factory conditions is a near impossible task, with factories fighting hard against regulations and some government officials turning a blind eye. There's just no escaping tragedy when the gap between rich and poor is this pronounced.
WSJ's report includes a lot more details and quotes about the incidents. I highly recommend you click through if you're interested.
Both Foxconn and Apple have expressed condolences about last week's deaths, but the former has yet to respond to an email for further comment.
