Blog 3: Student Labor in Foxconn Factory

Students attending school in Zhengzhou claim that their teachers are forcing them to work in the Foxconn factory, assembling iPhones, or they will not graduate. Foxconn states that, though they allow these student ‘interns’ to work on the lines, it is clear to them that they may leave at any time, a statement that their teachers quickly back up. Students, however, insist that they were forced to work on the assembly lines and were not given the option of backing out. Foxconn was brought under fire this year, along with several other plants, for their “illegal amounts of overtime, crowded working conditions, under-age workers, improper disposal of hazardous waste, and, in some cases, industrial accidents that have killed four people and injured more than 100.” Foxconn stated that it would lower overtime hours and raise wages, however in order to do this and still meet the necessary goals, it would have to hire thousands more workers – or, gain thousands of ‘interns’ to work the lines. Workers and students state that “10 of 87 workers on an iPhone assembly line [are] students,” according to surveys done as recently as Sunday by Mr. Li Qiang, the founder of China Labor Watch. Instead of getting an education, these young adults are being forced to work for countless hours or risk failing their classes. They were hardly given a choice in the matter – unless they wished to sacrifice their future – which makes this forced factory work akin to slavery. Though their superiors state that they could leave at any time, the students were under the impression they could not, and indeed many have left since this investigation began. Overall, this situation of young adults – and, indeed, children – being forced to work rather than going to school is a common one in many countries; however it is still a violation of their natural right to an education, to freedom, and to paid, safe work.

Reagan Overton
Blog 3
1:21 pm

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/technology/foxconn-said-to-use-forced-student-labor-to-make-iphones.html?_r=1