Today was not such a good day for Microsoft as news of conditions at a factory they use in China hit the media.
And I thought that today was going to be stressful enough for me, with the Manchester United / Manchester City Derby!
In a report published after a three year investigation The National Labor Committee has accused Microsoft of using teenager labor and having them work in 15-hours abusive shifts.
The KYE Systems factory in Dongguan, China uses hundreds of ‘work-study’ students aged 16 or 17 years old, who have to work in 15-hour shifts, six or seven days a week. Their days start at 7.45am and they finish at 10.55pm, all for as little as 34p an hour.
“We are like prisoners,” one teenaged worker said. “It seems like we live only to work. We do not work to live. We do not live a life, only work.”
The temperature in the factory can reach 86 degrees in summer and the air conditioners are never turned on except when a buyer visits the factory. KYE workers are prohibited from talking to each other, listening to music, or going to washroom during working hours.
The teenage workers produce webcams, mice, Xbox 360 and other computer peripherals. Not only are the hours long, but the workpace is gruelling as workers race frantically to complete their mandatory goal of 2,000 Microsoft mice per shift.
Microsoft accounts for about 30% of the factory’s work, although other companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech and Asus also use KYE Systems.
KYE management claims that they are fully compliant with China’s labor laws, but their workers and the report believe otherwise. Charles Kernaghan, executive director of the NLC, said: ‘It sounded like torture – the frantic pace on the assembly line, same motion over and over for the 12 hours or more of work they did.’
The NLC report found… ‘The workers have no rights, as every single labor law in China is violated. Microsoft’s and other companies’ codes of conduct have zero impact.’
Microsoft have said that they are committed to the ‘fair treatment and safety of workers‘. A spokesman added: ‘We are aware of the NLC report and we have commenced an investigation. We take these claims seriously and we will take appropriate remedial measures in regard to any findings of misconduct.’
Think Microsoft are having a worse one than me today?
What should these companies do now?
Leave your comments below…
