600,000 Chinese citizens worked to death yearly ~ Auto One Designs

Friday, September 10, 2010

600,000 Chinese citizens worked to death yearly

1:57 AM

zimbio

In China, death from overwork is so common there's actually a name for it: Guolaosi. Overwork, or (Gualoisi) kills 600,000 Chinese workers a year according to the China daily. Well, why are so many Chinese laborers dying? Many experts believe the deaths are directly related to Chinese labor practices and American corporations. Foxconn, (a company with over 920,000 employees) the company behind many Apple products has struggled to deal with worker suicides, employee protests and rising wage demands this year. (Foxconn actually put up nets outside its factories to lower suicide attempts) Let's take a moment to discuss the factory and living conditions at Foxconn.

Factory and living conditions:
1. Laborers work 35 hour shifts with no breaks. (even bathroom breaks are highly discouraged)
2. Workers are paid 30-60 cents per hour.
3. Workers live in cramped factory dorms.
4. Workers are not allowed to form unions and are even threatened with imprisonment.
5. Suicide is common.
6. Talking is discouraged.
7. Workers are not allowed to make their own food in some factories.

The staff work and live in massive factory-cities they almost never leave. Each room sleeps 10 workers, and each dorm houses 5,000. There are no showers; they are given a sponge to clean themselves with. Once the workers begin their shift they are strictly forbidden from talking, listening to music, or going to the bathroom. Anybody who breaks these rules suffers strict punishment.

So, how did this happen? US corporations including the chamber of commerce lobbied against the formation of independent trade unions in China and when the Chinese government began to concede to Chinese workers, the US corporations actually threatened to leave the country. This is big business and Chinese workers are being treated like slaves. (US workers will be next if we don't stand up for human rights worlwide)

This isn't a distant struggle: we are all at its heart whether you think so or not. There is an electrical extension cord running from your laptop and mobile and games console to the people in these factories. So you have to make a choice. You can passively let the corporations and governments speak for you in trying to beat these people back into servitude, or you can speak up and side with organisations which support human rights worldwide.

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