Linked by David Adams on Wed 17th Dec 2008 17:15 UTC, submitted by Michael
In a muckraking Spiegel.de article, suppliers to well-known computer manufacturers are accused of mistreating workers and violating Chinese labor law: "According to a Hong-Kong based human rights organization, working hours total up to 370 hours per month, workers aren't receiving the legal minimum wage and in the run-up to Christmas, days off are cut out entirely." One of the reasons that high tech hardware has become so widespread and useful is because it's so inexpensive. As this article demonstrates, this affordability can come at a price.
Permalink for comment 340595
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:
2006-03-30
Whatever lets you sleep at night buddy, but the only way they can get away with it is because we buy this stuff! In the West, we have built up a lifestyle that we enjoy, and we have done it based on prices that are only possible because the stuff is being made by people being mistreated, under payed, and living very poorly in comparison. 20% of the world's population owns 80% of the world's resources. Somewhere on the order of 30,000 people starve to death every day. There is enough food in the world for everyone to eat over 2600 calories a day.
The only reason people starve is because we let them. Because we let borders and petty conflicts and our own selfish desire to live well supersede the well being of our brothers and sisters around the world. And when someone writes an article like this that makes us uncomfortable, we tell ourselves crap like that: "Oh, its more complicated than that, see." Yeah, because we make it. There is no justice in the world. And everyone in the West, living well and bitching about a "bad economy" is guilty, the first person on that list being me.