More Foxconn Suicides?

One of those reasons I make a concerted effort not to buy anything from Foxconn . . . of course not buying anything from the Apple-owned parts is easy enough (especially since their's is the worst and the part that tends to not treat their workers like human beings).
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Do you own a cell phone or computer? If so you fail.


Typical [H] think process...

Foxconn sui...(ignores rest of message or any other facts)
Realizes Foxconn makes Apple products

leads to..

DAT FRUIT COMPANY RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Well, I applaud anyone who takes the time to better understand a situation and where their money goes. Seems like a responsible thing to do.

NukeDukem said:
I think they have bigger problems on their hands.
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+1, and pollution can be a factor contributing to depression and other illnesses.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/rivers...jacinto-walmart-employee-attempts-suicide.ece

So... I guess Walmart is just as bad as Foxconn, because they managed to prevent someone who happened to work there from slitting their throats, right? I'm betting the suicide rate for McDonalds USA for folks 20 to 24 is 12.5 per 100,000, but probably higher.

I think unemployment is probably a bigger factor in a decision to commit suicide. Just a hunch.
 
Revdarian said:
Wait, what?


Show me an average place in the US of A that has 12h shifts, no overtime, 6 days a week.
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Hmmm, depends on how you define it. Half the people in the area here work at low pay places such as Walmart or Subway; one job obviously doesn't pay the bills when you have a family - hard enough getting by single on such jobs - so they take two.

Add to that the new trend of almost-but-not-quite-fulltime jobs, so usually they get a pair of 35-39hrs/wk shifts in those jobs, thus effectively fulltime work without receiving employment benefits such as healthcare etc.

It's a depressing lifestyle imho, I'm sure the initial goal for many was to save up 100k for college but then reality set in 10-20 yrs into it, welcome to the new American dream.
 
Everybody here seems to be ignoring the fundamentals. Comparing two very different governments who in turn, oversee two very different cultures. We can find reasons for suicides in the U.S. but only draw assumptions on why they happen in China.


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jon666 said:
Everybody here seems to be ignoring the fundamentals. Comparing two very different governments who in turn, oversee two very different cultures. We can find reasons for suicides in the U.S. but only draw assumptions on why they happen in China.


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It's because they don't want to live anymore. :cool:
 
jon666 said:
Everybody here seems to be ignoring the fundamentals.
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So you think government has the biggest influence on your happiness? That's fine, and your opinion. I just know a few people who have attempted to commit suicide and they never listed "government" as a reason. It was more personal, like they hated themselves, felt worthless, or they were in so much pain and saw no other way out. I would argue these feelings are more "fundamental" then what is happening outside an individual.

And of course there are TONS of assumptions being made, I don't think anyone here is arrogant to say, for sure, 100%, it's this or that... well, I hope nobody assumes that much.
 
get real

they have suicides because the payout is atrocious
(like 3 X ehat they can earn in their entire lifetime there)

Alot of china chinese are scum.

Work there and you'll know.
 
Revdarian said:
Wait, what?


Show me an average place in the US of A that has 12h shifts, no overtime, 6 days a week.
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Most of the males in my family work 10-12hrs a day. We are all self employed in a rural setting, since that is the only way to have a decent paying job.

I know that isn't a "business" but self employment is a low paying, long hours job where I live.
 
Every time an iphone rings.....a Foxconn employee gets their wings
 
Youn said:
What other companies are this big that house their workers? I'm not saying you are wrong, just wondering, because that would be a better comparison.
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How about many of the remote working camps across North America? I live in a camp ran by a company called Kiewitt, 80KM north of Kapuskasing, Ontario. There are around 1500 (unionized) workers living at the camp at any given moment while we build 8 new hydroelectric turbines.

10 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3 weeks at a time. No suicides, yet... though I'm willing to bet the payout's a lot better in my case than that of a Foxconn employee.
 
The issue is China has no human rights. The workers are essentially slaves, and they're being paid pennies for working ridiculous hours. I'd want to kill myself too if my life was my work. Especially repetitious manufacturing type work. Their yearly salary is less than what we do in a year. When they build a house they literally have to buy one cinder block at a time, one 2x4 at a time etc over the course of 40+ years. Guess that's the issue with an overpopulated country, just not enough jobs, and the jobs that are available are borderline to slavery.
 
KILLER_K said:
Explain to me why on earth you are trying to compare United States to China for? Makes perfect sense right? You act like china mirrors what our country does.
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No, I wasn't trying to say China mirrors what the US does at all, I was simply pointing out that Foxconn does NOT a high suicide rate. Just because a few people have jumped off the building does not make it anymore significant than the fact some 32,000 Americans kill themselves a year.

Your question regarding why they do it at work... the same question could be asked why wouldn't they do it at work? They are there for a large portion of the day, from what I understand (and I could be wrong) many of them have moved to in the vicinity of where they work.

Your question regarding why they don't just quit if they can is because the prospects outside of Foxconn are even worse. Just like any westerner, they CAN quit, but it may not be a viable option. Even if you are in a western country if you happen to be in a job you don't like earning barely enough to get by, you CAN quit, but if you have no prospects elsewhere then you probably won't, or maybe you'll just tie a rope to the cross beam and hang yourself.
 
Red Squirrel said:
When they build a house they literally have to buy one cinder block at a time, one 2x4 at a time etc over the course of 40+ years.
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Opposed to westerners who just borrow a shit ton of money to buy a house they can't afford and pay it off over the next 30-40 years.
 
Tudz said:
Opposed to westerners who just borrow a shit ton of money to buy a house they can't afford and pay it off over the next 30-40 years.
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Let's not forget declaring bankruptcy because the mortgage and car payments along with other unnecessary expenses like cable television, cellular phones, and an addiction to cigarettes or booze are leeching away every little bit of money so that most people don't have available cash with which to endure any span of time unemployed.
 
It is ironic that Pandora just so happened to be playing "Jumper" byt T.E.B. when I opened this thread?:eek:
 
amorpheus said:
Nothing is wrong with the place. Consider two things:

  • Their suicide rate is actually below China's national average. (At least it was the last time this sensationalized issue was all over the media.)
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Funny how you say that like it's an achievement or something. A *workplace* suicide rate lower than the national average suicide rate. That sounds like *every* company. Most people that kill themselves, don't do so at work, so pretty much every company by default would have a lower suicide rate than the national average. a more meaningful number would be a comparison of suicide rates between companies, at the workplace.
 
canna said:
Funny how you say that like it's an achievement or something. A *workplace* suicide rate lower than the national average suicide rate. That sounds like *every* company. Most people that kill themselves, don't do so at work, so pretty much every company by default would have a lower suicide rate than the national average. a more meaningful number would be a comparison of suicide rates between companies, at the workplace.
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I'm not sure why the physical location of the suicide matters, but the deaths that were happening outside the workplace are indeed being counted in the totals for Foxconn. The list for 2010 is here and you can see that some were happening in places outside the plant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides

That aside, many employees live at the production plant so their home is also on the same campus as their place of work. That said, comparison to national averages is perfectly valid. Given the 12.5 per year (assuming they're at exactly 1 million employees) for the last two years is 1/20th of the national average of ~220 per year in China. That's a huge statistical disparity to outright dismiss.
 
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