iPhone Supplier with Labor Dispute

Dear Readers,

Here is RantWoman's cause du jour.

RantWoman realizes we all have much on our minds. That is one reason RantWoman favors lots of little steps that can make a big difference. The text below has not been edited by RantWoman but it contains a fast petition in support of workers' rights at a plant in the iPhone supply chain. RantWoman is posting without testing for accessibility because she assumes she has a variety of readers.

RantWoman welcomes the opportunity to rant about other devices besides the Kindle that are inaccessible to her; even if the iPhone were accessible though, RantWoman definitely prefers that its suppliers comply with local labor laws and treat its workers fairly while producing it. RantWoman also notes that generally workers who know what they are doing are more likely to produce reliable products that provide good customer experience than if the employer is continually churning and always trying to hire new workers.

Cheers
RantWoman
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Actuality, I was outside of the striked factory for one week after thestrike and interviewed the striked workers.
This is the english story which thanslated and reedited by my Chinesevision(http://blog.roodo.com/torrent/archives/8764933.html).
http://interlocals.net/?q=node/313
Ex-WINTEK Workers Joined in Protest of Poor Working ConditionTo sign the petition online, go to:http://campaign.tw-npo.org/campaign/sign.php?id=2009042210484600
If you are holding an iPhone or an HTC in your hand, you might havecontributed to the ordeals of nearly 8,000 factory workers in China andTaiwan, to speak of the least.
One of Apple's major suppliers, WINTEK, is recently facing a fight back fromangry workers, among who are the 700-strong on Taiwan's manufacture linesthat have been laid off early this year, who were rather surprised when theyfound out WINTEK began to recruit new workers immediately, while theseveterans are left jobless. Meanwhile, "Masstop" (東莞萬士達公司) in Donguan, asubsidiary of WINTEK, saw more than 7,000 broke in outrage when the workerswent on strike last Friday (17 April 2009), in protest of unlawful cuts onovertime wages and basic benefits.
WINTEK Corporation was established in Taiwan during the 1990s. Its majorproducts include flat monitors such as LCDs, LCMs and touch panels,occupying the largest market share of touch panels and small-sized mobilephone panels, ranking among the top 3 suppliers worldwide. WINTEK allocates12 of its manufacture lines in Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung, Taiwan,employing as many as 3,550 workers; for its two factories in Dongguan andSuzhou, China, 18,150 workers are employed, while its Chennai factory has1,450 workers. It spreads its worldwide sales networks across the US, Koreaand Germany. WINTEK's major clients include Apple (iPhone), Nokia and HTC.
More than 700 Taiwan factory workers laid off
Since November 2008, WINTEK had begun to cut salaries and stopped payingbenefits, and resorted to forcing unpaid leaves on employees. On December17, and the day after, more than 700 employees were laid off unexpectedly(the number can rise to near 1,000 if contract and migrant workers are to beincluded). WINTEK did not file a report to the Administration of LabourAffairs or embark on a negotiation process with its employees 60 daysbeforehand, as was written in the labour laws.
It was said the company targeted pregnant women and veteran workers, forthey would have cost the company much more than just hiring inexperiencedworkers; this could be viewed as an ostensibly discriminative action. Afterprotest, the would-be mothers went back to work, but the others are stillfighting their jobs back.
The company claimed that this measure was necessary because the number oforders has dropped sharply and that it was experiencing a bad loss.However, according to its financial statement, WINTEK still has a surplus offour billion TWD (approx. $118 million USD). Taiwanese press also reportedthat WINTEK had received rush orders, thus needed to hire a large number ofnew workers. (related press coverage:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/04/03/2003440066)
For those who appeared lucky to keep their jobs, their pay was cut, (noawards and no subsidies for early shifts) their overtime unpaid, and thenight shifts were asked to work longer hours. The workers had to worknonstop in order to make enough to survive. Moreover, the company has fileda lawsuit of defamation against Wei-li Chu (朱維立), chairperson of NationalFederation of Independent Trade Unions (自主工聯), who has been assisting theunemployed workers for this case.
7,000 workers went on strike, 19 sacked
On April 17, Masstop (東莞萬士達公司) in Donguan, a subsidiary of WINTEK, saw morethan 7,000 angry workers went on strike, an action of desolation triggeredby third-rate food, as well as missing overtime pay and subsidies.
In February, Masstop demanded the workers to sign an agreement for anovertime wages of only 1.5 times of their normal wages, and told theworkforce that this agreement was approved by the labour administration,which later proved to be a lie. By Chinese labour laws, however; those whowork overtime should be paid twice of their normal wages; which means ifthey get less than that, the company is breaching the laws.
Though later in the day of the strike, the company offered to pay twice thenormal wages for overtime, but they did not plan to solve the issues withfood and subsidies, 19 of the workers continued the strike and wereeventually laid off.
Organisation of workers anywhere is no easy task, let along in anenvironment as silencing and sensitive as China, where labour unions arescarce, and organisation work is often oppressed.
Global support and recognition from outside the country is urgently needed,for the workers in Masstop, Dongguan to have a chance of winning, or simplygetting even, in this battle.
WINTEK's violation of Apple's Supplier Code of ConductTo illustrate how international brands such as Apple, Nokia and HTC areresponsible for improving the working conditions of WINTEK workers, theprotesters have referred to the Code of Conduct outlined by Apple (http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/) and listed the misconducts ofWINTEK, Corp.
1. WINTEK has violated the code concerning overtime wages: "workers must becompensated for overtime hours at the premium rate required by applicablelaws and regulations."
Underpaid overtime wages：WINTEK forced its Taiwanese employees to give uptheir overtime pay and holiday subsidies, opting for more days off instead.
Dongguan Masstop, WINTEK's subsidiary in Dongguan, claimed on February 26ththat the labour administration on Dongguan has approved that its 25% cut inholiday overtime wages. In fact, the administration has never approved suchchange.
2. WINTEK has violated the code concerning fair treatment to employeesaccording to applicable laws and regulations.
Illegally laying off workers：Dongguan Masstop, WINTEK's subsidiary inDongguan faced strike because of working condition issues. Though thecompany agreed to adhere to labour laws and pay overtime wages twice as muchas the normal ones, the company made a conditional offer, stating that allworkers should be back at work before three in the afternoon. 19 of theworkers were laid off because they continued the strike. The fact is, thecompany agreed to pay the overtime wages only a few days later. According toChinese labour laws, workers have the rights not to work before they getpaid. The company breached the laws by laying them off.
3. WINTEK has violated the code concerning dormitory and dining: "Suppliersmust provide workers with clean toilet facilities, access to potable water,and sanitary food."
Food problems: Dongguan Masstop, WINTEK's subsidiary in Dongguan, has cutthe expenses for daily meals from 8 RMB to 4.5 RMB. Some say the food is afar cry from satisfactory. This issue directly resulted to the strike, butthe company has not solved it yet.
To sign the petition online, go to:http://campaign.tw-npo.org/campaign/sign.php?id=2009042210484600
Torrent