Employees at a Foxconn factory in China threatened to jump off a building if their requests were not addressed. The over 300 employees of the company that manufactures Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony products were demonstrating to express their grievances against the management that had allegedly duped them into quitting their jobs.
According to Watch China Times, the employees of the factory had approached the management demanding salary increments. The management then responded by offering them two options, to take their terminal benefits and quit or remain in the company with no salary increments.
Most chose the first option but it soon became apparent that the company was not going to honour the severance package promise. This is what sparked the outrage and threat to commit mass suicide. Wuhan’s mayor then intervened to calm down the irate mob and bring them to the dialogue table. In a swift rejoinder to the infarction, Microsoft posted the following comment:
“Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy.”
Asian factories are notorious for keeping their workers in deplorable working conditions as the same issue has also faced Apple with many pointing fingers to the big tech companies for not caring enough to do anything about the issue. We shall wait and see what action Microsoft will take, if any, concerning this issue.
