Work to Live or Live to Work

Work to Live or Live to Work

Work to Live or Live to Work

The smartphone market is expanding very rapidly. If the space exploration were as stimulated as mobile development we would have reached at least several planets of our system by now. In addition to the expanding of the application market the hardware market is also growing contributed by consumers' demands for more velocity, video refinements and quality.

But while app developers are busy sitting in standard offices working a standard 40-hour week with all fringe benefits included, handset manufacturers are less lucky having to suffer in the shop-like environment. Work to live or live to work is really one of the burning issues of our time, though not for all people, of course.

The situation around one of Foxconn factories agitated all the Internet community of tech freaks. It's quite a question whether the attention would be the same if the factory did not provide assembling for a range of Apple gadgets including the latest iPhone and the recently released iPad.

The whole situation is rather sad. About 13 workers (at least) decided to find a very peculiar solution to their life problems jumping from the top of the factory to their deaths. The company is said to exhaust its workers who spend their life at the factory premises. At first no attention was paid by the management. Calling a group of monks to prey for the souls of those who committed suicide might have been quite a wise decision for the Eastern mentality but it literally enraged the Western society that is very keen on saving blue whales, protecting democracies and preserving minorities. Due to numerous blogs, social networks and topical resources the news began to race revealing new details, and adding new rumors. The company promised a gain in wages but it did not help, additional measures such as safety nets around the factory or specially equipped stress-relief rooms were also of no assistance. The situation was getting worse when the factory's clients such as Dell, Apple and some others began to express their concern and interest in the affair. A special investigation hold by Apple stated that the main reason for the suicides is low wages. The company decided to partly subsidize the payroll of the workers that assemble its products, the 4-th generation iPhone and magic iPad. In addition Foxconn promised a raise in wages from its own part. Thus, in general the increase will be significant, though lucky ones will have to pass qualification exams to prove they are worth it.

The whole situation seems not to be exceptional for China, the labor laws of the country are quite severe, while long centuries of hard working made the nation very patient and ready to suffer. In continental China there are many other factories where the working conditions are much worse while the average payment much lower. In comparison to these sweatshops Foxconn is if not a paradise but at least a quite a supportable place to work. But if the company considers possible to raise payments, then better for its workers. Those who severely criticize Foxconn and its clients tend to forget that if its workers as well as other third world countries workers were paid due wages, the developed countries would have never reached the level of consumerism they are enjoying now. A simple gadget like the iPad would start from 1 000 $ or more while a T-shirt would definitely cost more than a couple of bucks. It is nice to care for others but most people are not ready to sacrifice their own money or time to ease the burden of others.

Another interesting thing in the whole story is how rapidly the Internet society got aware of the problem and forced the companies like Apple to take up some moves to solve the problem. And what's more, the high tech companies had to comply however insignificant they perceived that problem before.

The Net seems to be a highly efficient communication tool which can be used not only by media moguls and fat cats but by common users as well.

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