NICE SUICIDES

"Steve Jobs has said the Chinese iPhone factory where 10 workers have killed themselves this year is actually "pretty nice". Speaking at the All Things Digital conference in California, the Apple CEO also brushed aside questions about his relationship with Google ... Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn makes Dell, Nokia and Apple products at its factory in Shenzhen, China. As reported by The First Post, the latest suicide came last week, when a 23-year-old worker jumped to his death from a building roof. Jobs denied Foxconn ran a sweatshop and told the conference that Apple was working with the company to get to the bottom of why so many people were killing themselves. "You go in this place and it's a factory but, my gosh, they've got restaurants and movie theatres and hospitals and swimming pools. For a factory, it's pretty nice," said Jobs." (First Post, 2 June) What millionaire Mr Jobs does not mention is that the workforce stand for a 12 hour work day under constant camera surveillance for the princely sum of £90 per month and live in factory-owned dormitories. The factory is considering improving conditions by introducing "soothing" music, dancing instructors and a suicide hotline! The mindless repetitious factory 12 hour slog may seem "pretty nice" to Mr Jobs as he counts the millions of dollars extracted from the exploitation of these Chinese workers, but at least one worker last week decided to end his "pretty nice" servitude. RD