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Wintek workers still experience effects from n-hexane exposure, Apple issues a report
It's been a few months since we checked in on the workers at Wintek, where they manufacture touchscreens for the likes of Apple. As you might remember, the former company was facing a lawsuit for chemical poisoning that occurred between May 2008 to August 2009 when the company substituted alcohol for n-hexane in the manufacturing process. Both Apple and Wintek maintain that ultimately a total of 137 people had been hospitalized, and all have recovered -- but as Reuters points out, daily exposure to the chemical has been known to cause "long-term and possibly irreversible nerve damage," and Wintek employees have maintained that the company has left them holding the bag for symptoms that could very well flare up again in the future (or, in some cases, never really went away). "We are unable to cope with the medical costs of treatment in the future," said Guo Ruiqiang, a worker at the plant. "We can only stay in the factory and see what happens. We just feel very helpless now." For Apple's part, the company has mandated that Wintek "work with a consultant to improve their Environmental Health and Safety processes and management systems" in anticipation of a complete reaudit of the facility in 2011. [Warning: PDF More Coverage link]
44 Chinese workers sue Wintek over screen cleaner poisoning
If you've got an early Apple iPad, chances are its screen was cleaned with a banned substance called n-hexane, which releases a toxic nerve gas upon use. 2,000 workers at Wintek's East China LCD plant went on strike in January, claiming the substance was poisoning them, and now 44 of those reportedly affected are planning to sue. According to reports, the screen cleaner was originally used because it performed better than alcohol, but Wintek has since fired the factory manager who suggested n-hexane and discontinued its use. That didn't keep 62 workers from winding up in the hospital, however. The Guardian interviewed two hospitalized workers last week, and you'll find their stories at our more coverage link below. We're sure you'll agree these Chinese labor violations are getting out of hand -- let's hope this lawsuit spurs government and industry to do something concrete about worker abuse.
National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions
Yesterday, the National Labor Committee produced a report on the working conditions at the KYE Factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China. KYE operates (like many factories in China) a live-work facility and generated sales of $400 million in 2008. KYE manufactures outsourced products for HP, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech, and ASUS. Their largest customer, however, is reportedly Microsoft. The report details some of what we've come to expect in stories of labor abuses -- near children, most of them women, working for 16 or 17 hours a day, living in nearly deplorable conditions, for less than a dollar an hour -- all so that the world's ever-growing need for / addiction to consumer electronics can be fed. Now, the gadget industry isn't the only offender by a stretch -- but it's quickly becoming one of the largest (in addition to producing a truly horrific amount of toxic garbage). After the break are some choice facts from the report that our readers might be interested in ingesting, so read on.
