Foxconn cut working hours but staff worried

With Foxconn under the spotlight for poor working conditions over the last couple of years, it appears they have adapted to change staff hours.

Foxconn have decided to cut overtime for the 1.2 million people who work for them while promising compensation that will protect the employees against losing income. Primary partner Apple have backed the move, glad to have something positive to report to the world press.

Workers were surprisingly worried about the changes feeling they would lose substantial money in regards to overtime work. Reuters reported that a 23 year old Foxconn employee called Wu said “We are worried we will have less money to spend. Of course, if we work less overtime, it would mean less money.”

Foxconn are cutting the hours to 49 per week, including overtime. Another employee Chen Yamei, 25 said “We are here to work and not to play, so our income is very important. We have just been told that we can only work a maximum of 36 hours a month of overtime. I tell you, a lot of us are unhappy with this. We think that 60 hours of overtime a month would be reasonable and that 36 hours would be too little.”

Chen said she earned $634 a month (4000 yuan).

Reuters added “Foxconn is one the biggest employers of China's 153 million rural migrants working outside their hometowns. Compared to smaller, mainland-owned factories, workers said, its vast plants are cleaner and safer, and offer more recreation sites.

But even so, for most employees at the Foxconn plant in Longhua, a part of Guangdong province's vast industrial sprawl, life is dominated by the repetitive routine of the production line.”

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