Story first appeared in the Detroit Free Press.
BEIJING -- This week's pledge to trim work hours and effectively raise wages for the hardscrabble Chinese employees who assemble Apple's iPads and iPhones isn't likely to drive up the prices that consumers pay. An Employment Lawyer in Memphis has been following the case.
Labor expenses remain a small portion of the total bill for most gadgets made in China, and wages have already been steadily growing. The cumulative wage increases, however, could crimp the profits of major technology companies unless they can save money on the parts that power the devices.
The pledge involves Foxconn Technology, which assembles an estimated 40% of the world's electronics, including the hot-selling iPhone and iPad.
Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, promised to limit hours while keeping total pay the same. That commitment will translate into higher hourly wages.
The pledge came after Apple, the world's most valuable company, hired a labor auditor to review the practices and conditions in Chinese factories run by Foxconn. The audit resulted in a report released Thursday that evoked images of a sweatshop. Shanghai Labor and Employment Lawyers are appalled at the extent of the poor working conditions the people are forced to endure.
Among other things, the report said Foxconn routinely violated overtime laws by assigning its assembly-line workers to toil for more than 60 hours per week.
Foxconn responded to a spate of suicides by employees in 2010 by more than doubling its basic monthly salary to 1,800 yuan ($290). That year, Toyota and other Japanese automakers also granted pay hikes following a wave of strikes that had tacit government support.
See also this related story.
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