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Microsoft, others accused of breaking 'every single labor law in China'
For $0.65 an hour students perform labor such as assembling mice, scanners, keyboards, and more for up to 15-hour shifts. Most stay for a period of three months, but others remains for six months or longer. In addition to school kids, the factory reportedly prefers to hire women between 18 and 25 years old, since they are "easier to discipline and control."
Workers estimate that Microsoft accounts for about 30% of the production at KYE, the largest chunk, while companies like HP, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech, and Asus are also named. The National Labor Committee has a lengthy article, complete with photos and employee accounts if you're interested.
Microsoft responded to the accusations, saying it is "committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers" and that it will take "appropriate remedial measures in regard to any findings of vendor misconduct."
User Comments: 29
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hello ...
we are all guilty of this & it's hard to go off without it, i just hope some big companies will have more considerations of the labour side & don't abuse the weak.
i hate it when i have to use a product that's appealing & discover that by my purchase, i helped enslaving a poor human, yet i think they have no choices because of their countries situation.
what can we do? that will remain the question without an answer ...
cheers!
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Great question - now look at who's releasing the report...ah the The National Labor Committee...whose interest does it represent...oh right US unions...why are they nailing this on MSFT rather than KYE...ah it's because if they nail KYE MSFT can always find another vendor but if they put pressure on MSFT maybe, just maybe, these mice assembling jobs will come back to US? Or so they think...
Is $0.65 / hour bad? For you and me yes, but I'm guessing it's above the minimum wage in China, or India, or Vietnam, or Philippines... If they raise it to $6.5, then most of these people will have no jobs at all. It is their choice, let them make that decision.
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Great question - now look at who's releasing the report...ah the The National Labor Committee...whose interest does it represent...oh right US unions...why are they nailing this on MSFT rather than KYE...ah it's because if they nail KYE MSFT can always find another vendor but if they put pressure on MSFT maybe, just maybe, these mice assembling jobs will come back to US? Or so they think...That's absolutely not going to happen. The nurses at a local hospital near me went on strike because they thought that $37.00 (!!!!) dollars an hour wasn't enough money. The average US worker is arrogant to the point of being harmful to him or herself. Even the unskilled think that they can command big money for doing next to nothing.... and doing it wrong.Is $0.65 / hour bad? For you and me yes, but I'm guessing it's above the minimum wage in China, or India, or Vietnam, or Philippines... If they raise it to $6.5, then most of these people will have no jobs at all. It is their choice, let them make that decision.The people in China seek these jobs out, and are happy to get them. Fact is, it beats squatting in a rice paddy all day for 20 cents an hour. You have ****** in power here that think that you can spend your way out of a recession. China has been around thousands of years longer than the USA, and my money's on them outlasting us. This in spite of whichever imbecile over here happens to be spouting indignities about how China chooses to govern itself, or treats its people..
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Microsoft should be held responsible for using KYE to manufacture their products. Contracting the work out to a foreign company does not negate a corporations responsibility to ensure that workers are treated and paid fairly. The notion that .65/hr is a fair wage in china assumes far too much of the dollar as this wage, in the US, would be the equivalent of 4.43/hr. The current minimum wage (federally) in the US is 7.25/hr making the .65/hr roughly 38% below our federal minimum wage when adjusted for exchange rates. even assuming our federal minimum wage as a fair standard of pay, which it is not, .65/hr is a blatant exploitation of those who have been handed the shortest end of the stick of globalization. Looking beyond the wages, and the exploitation of students, there is still the fundamental issue that American corporations using foreign labor is highly advantageous for the corporation and highly detrimental to the people of both nations involved. The separation of production and consumption is a leading cause in the maldistribution of wealth domestically and globally. The bottom line is that KYE should be held responsible for its treatment of employees and Microsoft held responsible for funding the exploitation of workers. If a company cant handle the responsibility of knowing who they are handing the job off to they can manufacture their own products.
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