10th Foxconn employee dies after plant plunge
By Wang Xiang |
May 27, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A male employee of south China-based high-tech supplier Foxconn died last night after falling or jumping from a company dormitory in Shenzhen City, becoming the 10th such fatality this year.
Foxconn founder Terry Gou bowed deeply several times and apologized yesterday for not doing more to prevent nine suicides and two attempts at his massive south China plant.
Gou flew from Taipei to Guangdong Province's Shenzhen yesterday to try and head off the suicide spate.
He told a press conference he was "under huge pressure" but the firm was "hardly to blame for the workers' deaths."
He said nine of the 11 workers who jumped from buildings this year had worked for the company for less than six months. Thus, he said, it was hardly convincing that working conditions prompted these people to end their own lives.
"We're a company, we are not a society," Gou said. "We have a company's abilities to do things but we don't have a society's abilities."
Gou said many of the deaths were most likely caused by a variety of factors including failed romances.
A statement by Shenzhen police and the city's labor union said work stress was not the cause of the eighth suicide victim, Nan Gang.
Police said Nan was dumped by girlfriends, had gambling problems and was threatened by a casino owner.
Gou said that his company could hardly held responsible for societal problems.
He also promised to raise workers' salaries by 20 percent next month.
A letter allegedly sent to every employee by Foxconn managers has been posted online, claiming the factory would not take responsibility other than what the law required over suicides.
The posting said workers were forced to sign the letter.
Gou said yesterday he had never heard of the letter . "If by any chance the letter was from Foxconn officials, I take the words back," he said.
Already tight security measures at the plant that so closely guards its privacy are being increased.
The factory provides laundry services for workers, has on-site swimming pools sealed with wire fences and before the suicide spate it set up a psychological hotline.
After the ninth worker, Li Hai, 19, fell to his death on Tuesday, the factory started to install nets around buildings and fences on every roof.
Gou said there would eventually be 1.5 million square meters of this netting.
Some workers said there were now more security guards at the factory.
The factory has asked its 420,000 workers to form 50-member groups to "watch each other's backs" and report any anomalies to officials.
Yesterday's Oriental Morning Post quoted several workers as saying the security guards were the most fearsome people in the factory.
One employee told China Central Television that he fell straight to sleep every day after work, never talked to anyone and felt alienated.
Foxconn founder Terry Gou bowed deeply several times and apologized yesterday for not doing more to prevent nine suicides and two attempts at his massive south China plant.
Gou flew from Taipei to Guangdong Province's Shenzhen yesterday to try and head off the suicide spate.
He told a press conference he was "under huge pressure" but the firm was "hardly to blame for the workers' deaths."
He said nine of the 11 workers who jumped from buildings this year had worked for the company for less than six months. Thus, he said, it was hardly convincing that working conditions prompted these people to end their own lives.
"We're a company, we are not a society," Gou said. "We have a company's abilities to do things but we don't have a society's abilities."
Gou said many of the deaths were most likely caused by a variety of factors including failed romances.
A statement by Shenzhen police and the city's labor union said work stress was not the cause of the eighth suicide victim, Nan Gang.
Police said Nan was dumped by girlfriends, had gambling problems and was threatened by a casino owner.
Gou said that his company could hardly held responsible for societal problems.
He also promised to raise workers' salaries by 20 percent next month.
A letter allegedly sent to every employee by Foxconn managers has been posted online, claiming the factory would not take responsibility other than what the law required over suicides.
The posting said workers were forced to sign the letter.
Gou said yesterday he had never heard of the letter . "If by any chance the letter was from Foxconn officials, I take the words back," he said.
Already tight security measures at the plant that so closely guards its privacy are being increased.
The factory provides laundry services for workers, has on-site swimming pools sealed with wire fences and before the suicide spate it set up a psychological hotline.
After the ninth worker, Li Hai, 19, fell to his death on Tuesday, the factory started to install nets around buildings and fences on every roof.
Gou said there would eventually be 1.5 million square meters of this netting.
Some workers said there were now more security guards at the factory.
The factory has asked its 420,000 workers to form 50-member groups to "watch each other's backs" and report any anomalies to officials.
Yesterday's Oriental Morning Post quoted several workers as saying the security guards were the most fearsome people in the factory.
One employee told China Central Television that he fell straight to sleep every day after work, never talked to anyone and felt alienated.
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