There has been a fair amount of press lately about Foxconn a Taiwan based company with manufacturing facilities in mainland China. The company manufactures much of the hot consumer electronics products that are coveted world wide, including the Apple iPhone and iPad. The BBC is reporting "Ten people have killed themselves at its plant in Shenzhen, in southern China, which employs about 400,000 people. Three more apparently tried to take their own lives." It's unbelievable that people are pushed to these tragic endings, however as others have reported 10 in 400,000 is well below the national average in China. In my humble opinion it's highly likely that the reaction by Foxconn to increase wages is more the result of pressure from Apple and other companies who use their service, than out of concern for the employees. To qualify for the pay rise, workers will first have to pass a performance test lasting three months (the old carrot and stick again). The company has also hired psychiatrists and installed safety nets on buildings, seriously!
