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A worker's suicide highlights the dark side of globalization
By Mei Xinyu |
August 4, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A 25-year-old employee of Foxconn, which manufactures the iPhone, committed suicide on July 16 after being interrogated about a missing prototype.
Sun Danyong, who had been assigned the task of sending iPhone prototypes to Apple, had been under suspicion after one of the handsets went missing.
Sun allegedly committed suicide after being detained and beaten by a man surnamed Gu, an official of Shenzhen-based Foxconn Technology Group's security department, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on July 21.
Foxconn no doubt has some responsibility for Sun's death.In a broader sense, however, Sun is a victim of the current international division of labor as a result of globalization.
True, it was Foxconn's suspicion that drove Sun to commit suicide. But Foxconn did not do it without reason.
Under the current international division of labor, Apple, with its core status, controls all the high value-added parts of the industrial chain, including designing and marketing, and thus draws the most profit from its products.
Low profit
By comparison, Foxconn, which appears to be enjoying a strong position in the Chinese market, is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) which makes a fairly low profit margin.
Yet it has to strive hard for that meager margin by distinguishing itself from numerous competitors worldwide.
Therefore, the loss of such a major client as Apple would be unaffordable.
If it was proved that the Foxconn employee did steal the handset, which was facilitated by loopholes in the company's management, Foxconn would lose its reputation in the OEM market.
But the pressure from such companies as Apple or Foxconn alone may not have rendered the Chinese employee helpless.
After all, Sun could have turned to the government and public opinion for help.
Regrettably, today, many local governments safeguard profitable businesses loyally in the name of "developing the private economy" or "supporting the emerging social stratum," turning a blind eye to those factories' undisguised violation of the rights of their employees. Worse, cases of conspiracy between certain local governments and business, such as the black brick kiln incidents, are not rare.
Sense of security
At a time when the violation of migrant workers' rights is no longer news, the fate of Sun - an excellent university graduate and an employee of a famous enterprise - is indeed shocking: Is there any group of employees who could feel a sense of security?
To prevent similar tragedies from happening, local governments must reflect on their obsession with economic growth and globalization.
At any rate, the dignity and rights of ordinary workers shall not be sacrificed.
(The author is a senior researcher under the Ministry of Commerce. The views are his own. He can be reached at meixinyu@126.com.)
Sun Danyong, who had been assigned the task of sending iPhone prototypes to Apple, had been under suspicion after one of the handsets went missing.
Sun allegedly committed suicide after being detained and beaten by a man surnamed Gu, an official of Shenzhen-based Foxconn Technology Group's security department, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported on July 21.
Foxconn no doubt has some responsibility for Sun's death.In a broader sense, however, Sun is a victim of the current international division of labor as a result of globalization.
True, it was Foxconn's suspicion that drove Sun to commit suicide. But Foxconn did not do it without reason.
Under the current international division of labor, Apple, with its core status, controls all the high value-added parts of the industrial chain, including designing and marketing, and thus draws the most profit from its products.
Low profit
By comparison, Foxconn, which appears to be enjoying a strong position in the Chinese market, is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) which makes a fairly low profit margin.
Yet it has to strive hard for that meager margin by distinguishing itself from numerous competitors worldwide.
Therefore, the loss of such a major client as Apple would be unaffordable.
If it was proved that the Foxconn employee did steal the handset, which was facilitated by loopholes in the company's management, Foxconn would lose its reputation in the OEM market.
But the pressure from such companies as Apple or Foxconn alone may not have rendered the Chinese employee helpless.
After all, Sun could have turned to the government and public opinion for help.
Regrettably, today, many local governments safeguard profitable businesses loyally in the name of "developing the private economy" or "supporting the emerging social stratum," turning a blind eye to those factories' undisguised violation of the rights of their employees. Worse, cases of conspiracy between certain local governments and business, such as the black brick kiln incidents, are not rare.
Sense of security
At a time when the violation of migrant workers' rights is no longer news, the fate of Sun - an excellent university graduate and an employee of a famous enterprise - is indeed shocking: Is there any group of employees who could feel a sense of security?
To prevent similar tragedies from happening, local governments must reflect on their obsession with economic growth and globalization.
At any rate, the dignity and rights of ordinary workers shall not be sacrificed.
(The author is a senior researcher under the Ministry of Commerce. The views are his own. He can be reached at meixinyu@126.com.)
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