Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Modern Day "Slavery"?
Posted by Andy Sjostrom in "THOUGHT" @ 02:37 AM
The most apparent trend in the mobile devices market is that we get more for less. It is not surprising since the IT industry has lived and grown by that trend since the beginning and will most likely continue to do so. Product price is dependent on many factors including software licenses, hardware components and wages. I am not an economist, but I understand that a company operating in a market where price is a critical success factor has to make sure that the entire business process is cost efficient.
Do you know where your Pocket PC was built? It was most likely built in Taiwan, Malaysia or perhaps China. The reason why it was built in one of these countries is "wages". I recently saw a documentary about the company Flextronics on TV. Flextronics is one of the largest device manufacturers in the world and has production plants in many low-wage countries. The documentary moved me and I have to ask myself: Do I play a part in modern day slavery?
One of the plants Flextronics operates in China has more than 11,000 workers. They are all, with few exceptions, young women between 17 and 20 years old. The women come from small villages, often far away from the production plants. "The younger they are, the faster they work", said a native Flextronics manager and his colleague from the US added "They are very good at repeatability". The President of Flextronics' analysis on moving more production to China included the statement: "The people are hungry, so they work well". The young women live at the plant, sharing sleeping quarters with seven others. A young worker exclaimed: "It is good here. We have both hot and cold water."
However, despite modern day slavery-like working conditions, all young women appearing in the documentary seemed to be happy to work for Flextronics. On this matter, the documentary seemed to say that working for Flextronics is, to them, a ticket away from village life, an opportunity to help support their families and a way to more modern, urban life. An average monthly salary was said to be about $500 and that is much more than the yearly $200-$300 that her family in the village can make. The facilities were clean and very well organized. But all those aspects aside, I have no doubt that Flextronics has the better deal. The attitude shown by top executives towards these young women, the heroes of the mobile device market, scares me.
Since mobile devices have been around for more than three years, the analytical observer has to ask what happens to workers as they pass 20 years of age. Apparently, they work under a three year contract which, in my opinion, effectively keeps wages down and makes union activities impossible.
The financial wealth these production plants generates undoubtedly helps build a better society and welfare in these countries, but how much can the workers be exploited before it in fact becomes modern day slavery? I buy mobile devices and inspire others to do the same. What responsibility do companies like Microsoft and HP have? What is my responsibility?
Do you know where your Pocket PC was built? It was most likely built in Taiwan, Malaysia or perhaps China. The reason why it was built in one of these countries is "wages". I recently saw a documentary about the company Flextronics on TV. Flextronics is one of the largest device manufacturers in the world and has production plants in many low-wage countries. The documentary moved me and I have to ask myself: Do I play a part in modern day slavery?
One of the plants Flextronics operates in China has more than 11,000 workers. They are all, with few exceptions, young women between 17 and 20 years old. The women come from small villages, often far away from the production plants. "The younger they are, the faster they work", said a native Flextronics manager and his colleague from the US added "They are very good at repeatability". The President of Flextronics' analysis on moving more production to China included the statement: "The people are hungry, so they work well". The young women live at the plant, sharing sleeping quarters with seven others. A young worker exclaimed: "It is good here. We have both hot and cold water."
However, despite modern day slavery-like working conditions, all young women appearing in the documentary seemed to be happy to work for Flextronics. On this matter, the documentary seemed to say that working for Flextronics is, to them, a ticket away from village life, an opportunity to help support their families and a way to more modern, urban life. An average monthly salary was said to be about $500 and that is much more than the yearly $200-$300 that her family in the village can make. The facilities were clean and very well organized. But all those aspects aside, I have no doubt that Flextronics has the better deal. The attitude shown by top executives towards these young women, the heroes of the mobile device market, scares me.
Since mobile devices have been around for more than three years, the analytical observer has to ask what happens to workers as they pass 20 years of age. Apparently, they work under a three year contract which, in my opinion, effectively keeps wages down and makes union activities impossible.
The financial wealth these production plants generates undoubtedly helps build a better society and welfare in these countries, but how much can the workers be exploited before it in fact becomes modern day slavery? I buy mobile devices and inspire others to do the same. What responsibility do companies like Microsoft and HP have? What is my responsibility?
