It comes as no surprise that someone would want to leak the independently-produced report on Foxconn's treatment of its workers, but the contents are bloody appalling. Apparently 1,736 workers were surveyed, with stories of overtime and even violence.
Workers from nine cities were questioned by over 60 volunteers from 20 universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and of those 60 people 14 were actually able to gain access to the company and see first-hand the daily horrors themselves.
We've heard countless stories of suicides, alleged beating and bullying, and of course the extreme overtime forced upon the workers, but according to the report 50 per cent of employees have been "abused" in some shape or form. Distressingly, 16.4 per cent of the people spoken to said they'd experienced some form of violence from management.
Double the legal overtime was worked each month by interns, and if an accident occurred on-shift it could prove disastrous for them, with a lack of contracts meaning Foxconn is not required to pay medical expenses. Even health checks for employees who come into contact with hazardous materials are not undertaken as regularly as they should—one employee who'd been there 16 years said he'd only ever had two health check-ups.
Bizarrely, even that 30 per cent pay rise that was given to employees seems to have been all talk and no show, with some workers only receiving a rise of 9.1 per cent. Bonuses were rare, too, according to the report.
Sadly, the list goes on. It's a horrible state of affairs, particularly when we thought the worst was behind Foxconn and its employees. Terry Gou, Foxconn's CEO, has become increasingly faster in responding to media stories about his company, so we shall wait and see how he attempts to explain this report away this time. [Global Times and Economic Times]
UPDATE: Apparently the report was leaked by Global Times, which, according to the New York Observer, is a publication backed by the Communist Party, which apparently has "issues" with Foxconn.