Suicide as a Pressure Tactic

Foxconn is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics and computer components, and makes equipment for brands such as Apple, Dell and Cisco.

Foxconn is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics and computer components, and makes equipment for brands such as Apple, Dell and Cisco. But it has been more in the news for its workers committing suicide in China, allegedly due to harsh working conditions and low wages. When 10 of its employees recently jumped to their death, the company decided to take note and raise salaries, effective October 2010. The move may have been announced in time for the AGM of Hon Hai Precision Industry—Foxconn’s parent company that is Taiwan-based—which followed a few days later. As a result of this generosity, though, shares of Hon Hai fell more than 10 per cent over two days at the Taiwan Stock Exchange and its board was heckled by shareholders at the AGM. Investors at the Taipei AGM held that the increase was too much. And to make matters worse, workers at other industrial plants in China are realising that salary increments can be wrested from the management. Workers at these other plants are, however, resorting to strikes to get their salary hikes.

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Alok Singh