As the Year of the Tiger approaches (February 14th this year), Chinese workers look forward to their week-long holiday -- a nightmarish time for foreign vendors who'll struggle to get hold of anyone in the country. Sadly, this wasn't the case for
Wintek -- screen supplier for
Nokia,
Huawei and
Apple. The Taiwanese company's East China factory ground to a halt last Friday morning, while about 2,000 of its 10,000 workers went on a five-hour protest over a rumored bonus cancellation for the second year in a row. On top of that, workers also criticized Wintek for using n-hexane -- a banned substance used for cleaning LCDs -- which they claim caused the death and paralyzation of several workers last year. Factory officials and Chinese health authorities don't deny that n-hexane was used, but they say it wasn't responsible for either the deaths or the paralyzations. Now, the good news: Wintek has promised that workers
will get their bonuses, and further said that the factory hasn't used n-hexane since August -- complete with proof that current n-hexane levels are lower than safety regulations require. Let's hope things get better between management and workers from now on. One more picture and video of the protest after the break.
posted January 19th 2010 7:07PM
good for them!
@eman2593
Chinese workers?? Rights?? HAHA too funny./
I would rather pay $1 extra (or more) for that device if it means peoples' health are not going to be compromised. I can't understand why companies have to wait until someone dies before addressing health concerns. These company officials should be made to eat the same food they are forcing down their workers throat. It is just unconscionable.
@Thinker
Its the big companies that squeeze the manufacturers to the limit. Like say if a computer company wanted them to make cheaper LCD's then they would ask them to keep the price down, which then makes the manufacturer have to compromise on working conditions.
@eman2593 yeah really! I honestly didn't know Chinese works had the independence of will to strike, albeit for five hours.
@eman2593
WHAT? ONLY $1... easily $10...
any while you are at it throw in some quality for another $10 please Apple...
THese are people like the rest of us.. WTF? I really dont give a crap about the next poop iPoop gadget ot know that people are being hurt... a $20 Mp3 player will do just fine,,, As for Nokia phones... there are plenty others making better phones out there Nokla.
@wonderbread
The 5 hours was their company allotted sleep time.
You know why products Made in China are much cheaper now?
Not just because of the quality goes down with the pay to the workers, but also related to who the owners are.
Republic of China (a.k.a Taiwan) or Hong Kong owned companies treat people like Wintek does. Nokia, Apply etc, won't.
@xiaohan
Because apple and most western companies care about PR, if they subcontracted it to Taiwanese and Hong Kong company, they could blame the subcontracter while reaping the benifit of low cost.
Fight the Power!
@naz
Yea... easy to say in whatever Western country you live in. If these folks don't go back to work soon, Chinese authorities will probably just start killing people at random. I commend these people for their bravery in the face of such danger.
NO BONUS??? I want to look Wintek straight in the eye and I want to tell them what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit they are! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?
@paul34 No unlikely! I would image that 2000 people is the Chinese Governments numbers!
Anyway, I live in Taiwan and here the bonus for chinese new year, I don't get it because I am a foreigner, usually equates to an additional 1/2 to a full months pay. For example, my wife's brother works for the miltary and he normally gets paid NT$40K (US$1200), a very good amount here for a single person or dual income home, at chinese new tear he brings home 80k and acts as 'the house' for gambling with his other 3 brothers. Funny thing every year he doubles that money by taking the brothers' New Year bonuses.I do not know the policy in China but I imagine it is similar. For these workers this is a lot of money!
@paul34 No unlikely! I would image that 2000 people is the Chinese Governments numbers!
Anyway, I live in Taiwan and here the bonus for chinese new year, I don't get it because I am a foreigner, usually equates to an additional 1/2 to a full months pay. For example, my wife's brother works for the military and he normally gets paid NT$40K (US$1200), a very good amount here for a single person or dual income home, at chinese new tear he brings home 80k and acts as 'the house' for gambling with his other 3 brothers. Funny thing every year he doubles that money by taking the brothers' New Year bonuses.I do not know the policy in China but I imagine it is similar. For these workers this is a lot of money!
Apple is no different than other company paid little to workers while charge you high price products.
@techlord
I'm confused. If they're so poor, why do they have nicer clothes than I do?
@Abe
Cause Clothing is far cheaper In China than in U.S. also could is one of those copy brand clothes.
@Abe
Maybe you have bad taste.
@Abe Buy a cloth of Calvin Klein costs over 200 dollars,how much in us?maybe 20 dollars is enough
@techlord Oppressing workers, there's an app for that....
@jon
It's possible I have bad taste, but I know for sure that I have a bad bank balance.
@Abe
I was in China a few years back, and I was surprised at how well people dressed. In fact, demand for name brand clothes were so high that they cost more in China than in North America, even though a lot of them were made there. It was a cliche for a secretary to spend many months of salary on a designer bag.
I always thought culturally the Chinese are the Italians of Asia. They are picky on clothes and food, like saving faces, and are loud in restaurants. Japanese are the Germans, punctual, precise, and kinky. Koreans are the Russians, melancholic, serious, and dramatic. Indians are the Greeks. Lively, passionate, and along with China, one of the remaining civilizations of the classical era.
@psmisc
LOL I absolutely agree! However, I prefer to interpret the kinkiness as a part of a generalized liberalism which I very much enjoy from them. Very nice analogies, btw.
Makes you look a little differently at your Iphone screen doesn't it...
@Blackwheel
Not if you already know about it!
They should rise their salary by 1-2$ a month i guess? shouldn't be a problem.
@GoogleCEO
nice ass.
They better get back to work, or Steve Jobs is going to go over there and open up a can!
@Abe not of whoop ass? Just a simple can? :(
@IvanP91
Er, that was implied, yes. But thanks for spelling it out for everyone else!
@Abe
Steve doesn't do his dirty job. He would just make an app for that instead.
Newsworthy!
LOL! Cool Pics! I thought you guys Photoshopped "Wintek" onto the building!
@Atkins lol nice =D
Great, now all I'm going to think about is that n-hexane thingy...
Good for them.
It looks like they see the power of collectively organizing against a company that is trying to screw them.
WITNESS: The beginning of the fall of cheap labor.
@(Unverified) That's a good thing. Now robots can replace them and do the work for half the pay.
@(Unverified)
This has been happening in China for about 10 years. The wages in China are already too high, that's why plants are moving to cheaper, less developed countries like Malaysia and Vietnam.
Its not the end of Cheap labor until they start building plants in Africa, and then THOSE guys revolt (obviously, if you look at a Map... Africa is not positioned to be the manufacturing powerhouse that China is).
Those Chinese workers should have some kind of revolution where they rise up and overthrow their bourgeois oppressors, seizing the means of production and creating a state that treats workers fairly.
lol, like that'll ever happen.
@mullingitover
hey, it is possible, until dictatorship settles in 2 days after the formation of the new government. ;)
@mullingitover They already tried that and are still suffering the consequences. The spectre of Mao still haunts them.
@mullingitover When did "Americans in 2001" become "Chinese"?
@(Unverified) lol good one. You expect me to believe that the wealthy capitalist Chinese government that's loaning our socialist country all this money was once run by communists? I suppose you have a bridge to sell me as well.
@(Unverified) I think that was the joke dude...
Chinese Lunar New Year starts on the 13th February this year, not 14th. It stretches for 14 days annually, in China.
@darkmax
Nope.. My bad. That's the wrong calendar.. it is on the 14th.
@darkmax in most cases the chinese new year's holiday will only last a week, only students get over 2 weeks off. those in the work forces that do take two weeks off usually need to move their vacation time around a bit.
@darkmax
yeah, but try getting anything done from the 10-30th...
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