I don't even see how this is newsworthy. Everything made in China is made in horrific human rights violations. That's why we get things for so cheap.
Might as well say "Newsflash: Every console and PC manufacturer abuses Chinese people"
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They're doing unpaid work in exchange for college credits, as part of an agreement with the school. Pretending this is slavery is just hyperbole. I'm sure slaves would've loved to go to college, spend some time putting stickers on electronics, and walk away with a degree.
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There's nothing physically stopping them from leaving. If they want the college credit, they have to complete the requirements. At this crappy school, apparently that means doing an internship at this factory. Its not that different from any other internship, even here in the states.
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There have been recent court cases in the States that have ruled that unpaid internships violate the minimum wage laws. In Canada the courts ruled that unpaid interns aren't allowed to do any actual work but are there only to observe.
This whole trend of entry level jobs being offered as unpaid internship is ridiculous and unfair to both the people taking the internships and those that are already working in the field as it lays the ground work for lowering wages.
To everyone making excuses for unpaid internships on the basis that it occurs everywhere, that doesn't make it moral or acceptable.
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*paid work
...the students were in fact paid the same as a normal Foxconn worker — 1,600 yuan (about $261.62) per month — according to the company and their school, Xi'an Technological University.
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for Apple, we know of suicides in the Chinese factories and of the off-on-off use of banned toxic products that kill the environment.
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I'm not surprised at all but I also want to hear from what the Chinese will say about this. I know there are some Chinese users on this site and it would be appreciated if we have an inside view on this subject too.
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Sounds like a paid internship to me.
EDIT: I'm not arguing that this wrong, but it isn't as bad as the article makes it out to be.
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lrn2read
"But students have said that once they got to Foxconn, they were assigned to jobs that had no relation whatsoever to their fields of study, including grunt work like distribution and shipping. One student, for example, majored in finance and accounting but has been assigned to a job that entails glueing together parts of Sony’s Playstation 4."
Also it's not clear whether they are being paid. It's implied they are doing this only for college credit
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...the students were in fact paid the same as a normal Foxconn worker — 1,600 yuan (about $261.62) per month — according to the company and their school, Xi'an Technological University.
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But who cares, people don't care about the exploited workers, they are more worried that this spoils the Playstation name and will probably go on to refute "Well xbawx does it too !!!!Shift+one!o11".
Console wars > Human Rights.
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Not shocking at all. Hell, apple does it too. They are not the only ones either..
Really is sad, would be great if something could be done about it. However I do not live in that country, and I am not in a position to set up laws forbidding companies to have dealings with known offenders in the country I live in. Simply stopping of buying the products will not work either, too meany people who do not care how they get what they want, as long as they get it.
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Saw a documentary about apple factories in China. They used to have a large number of suicides. Now they have suicide nets to prevent that. Overworked and underpaid workers are not uncommon in that part of the world.
E: I think this is the original article - University students 'forced to work at iPhone maker Foxconn'
If that is the original article, the guys @ gamesinasia removed iphone and added PS4. LOL.
BTW many companies use that factory, including Microsoft.
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http://www.steamgifts.com/forum/W164G/playstation-1-xbox-0
so does that mean we can take that 1 away from playstation now? :D
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Wow what??? Awks...
on a side note, one of my acquaintances who is a lawyer says that Sony didn't pay their firm for 3 years... that's ethics for you.
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I don't really get what the issue is since they are compensated. Unless they are being treated poorly, that is. Honestly, I think work experience would be a valuable part of education starting from high school. Even work not in one's intended job field still is of value because it gives references towards a future job and any job is going to provide skills that could be of use in their chosen field later. Plus it is far easier to get a job once you already have some experience.
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Report: Foxconn using forced student labor to build Sony’s PS4
Awkward...
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