These tired factory workers in China work 15-hours shifts for about 70 cents per hour. The picture was smuggled out of the KYE Systems factory at Dongguan, China. A human rights organization called the National Labour Commitee (NLC) has been investigating working conditions in Chinese factories for three years.
The shift starts at 7:45am and ends at 10:55pm. The workers sleep in dormitory rooms at the factory with 14 workers to a room. The base pay, without overtime, is 770 yuan per month, which is about 112 dollars per month.
One employee told the NLC: “We are like prisoners. It seems like we live only to work - we do not work to live. We do not live a life, only work.”
Microsoft outsources this manufacturing work to China to reduce labor costs. These factories are like the sweatshops of the 19th century in Britain or New England. The workers have no rights and are abused by management.
KYE Systems also manufactures products for Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Acer and Logitech. No doubt the computer mouse you are using to read this article was made in a Chinese sweatshop.
Isn’t it nice that you were able to buy that Microsoft Mouse so cheap? These are just some of the benefits of globalization:
- Big corporations like Microsoft can reduce labor costs and increase profits.
- Microsoft stockholders see higher profits which makes their stock more valuable.
- American consumers can buy cheap manufactured goods.
- Chinese workers get to work like slaves 15 hours each day in sweatshops for 70 cents per hour.
- American workers get to spend time with their families because they are unemployed.
Everybody wins with globalization!
Read this story at dailymail.co.uk: The image Microsoft doesn’t want you to see: Too tired to stay awake, the Chinese workers earning just 34p an hour
