 (photo: SACOM) |
Only the young, the fast, the humble and the female can make it in the Asian mobile phone factory, says MakeIT Fair report
Jaakko Takalainen
Translated by Linus Atarah
When a functioning Nokia mobile phone can be bought in Finland as cheap as 40 Euros, it begins to raise suspicions as to under what conditions such wonder price can be profitably manufactured.
One point of view to that issue is provided in a report, Silenced to Deliver by Swedish SwedWatch and SOMO, an organisation that investigates multinational co-operations which gives account of how mobile phones are manufactured in China and in the Philippines. The report which is part of MakeITFair project does not portray a pleasant picture: work pace during peak times which resembles forced labour, overtime which far exceeds the legally accepted, starvation wages, lack of protection at the workplace and miserable living conditions.
The main message of the report seems to be that one can only survive in the Far East mobile phone factory if one is young, fast, dexterous, humble and female.
Information for the youth
Silenced to Deliver is the second part of MakeITFair’s reports in three series. The first part dealt with raw material for mobile phones, laptop computers and the consumer electronics and how they are assembled, and the third report deals with their retail trade. The contribution of Finland to the three-year project is 180 000 Euros, the EU funded 75 per cent of it. The target group of the project is young consumers of age 15-35 years.
- That is why we are investigating the manufacture and sale of mobile phones, mp3 players, game consoles and laptop computers. Most of the workers in consumer electronic factories in China and in many other countries are young and female. That is also why the youth are a suitable target for the project and its related campaign, says FinnWatch Project Co-ordinator, Päivi Pöyhönen.
In addition to the reports, MakeITFair produces materials for campaigning organisations, schools, educational institutions and also has an ongoing letter campaign.
The Silenced to Deliver report reels off enormous figures. Thirty-six mobile phones are manufactured in the world every second, and over fifty per cent (52) of the world’s mobile phones are manufactured in China. Already in 2006 the number of mobile phones sold exceeded the one billion mark.
The five biggest mobile phone manufacturers – Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG and Sony-Ericsson – control 80 per cent of the world’s mobile phone market. In the report the names of the factories of subcontractors have been replaced with the letters A, B, C, etc., so that attention can be focused on these five brand names whose operations have the biggest impact on the Far East subcontractors and who have promised to ensure legally accepted working conditions in the whole of their subcontracting chain.
For the report, 102 workers were interviewed anonymously either alone or in small groups in six different factories in China and in the Philippines. In addition 50 other workers in the sector were interviewed in the Philippines.
The main emphasis of the report is on China and in mobile phone manufacture. The manufacture of hard disks and semi-conductors in the Philippines are slightly left aside. Work and living conditions in China is portrayed a little more positively in China in the report. In addition to poor working conditions the opposition of trade unions can lead to, in the worst case, physical assault or even death.
- The authors of the report said that in the Philippines all were crying when the interviews were conducted – workers as well as interviewers, says Päivi Pöyhönen.
Twenty-five days without rest
According to the report, in China as well as in the Philippines an enormous amount of overtime is done during peak times. National laws and the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) would pale in significance compared to 12-hour working days and 6-7 days a week. A certain factory in the Philippines even recorded 25 days or uninterrupted night shift work of 64-67-hour working week.
Overtime work is not always voluntary, and furthermore in many cases one cannot live on only basic salary. This is because in Chinese electronic good factories the minimum wage has become the basic wage. Even though salaries including overtime have increased in China because of labour shortage to 100-170 Euros a month, prices of foodstuff have risen even faster.
In addition to overtime, one can try to earn better income by increasing the work pace. In such circumstance, the use of protected gear diminishes and accidents rise, especially when dangerous chemicals and harmful material are involved in the manufacture of mobile phones.
Thirty to 60 percent of the overall incomes of those interviewed are made of overtime work. When a stressed and tired worker makes a mistake or doses on the job he is fined and thus earnings are reduced by 20 per cent.
In the report, one factory that produces circuit boards for mobile phone companies displays a clear table on the instances that one could be fined: five Euros for gambling in working attire, 15 Euros for smoking or drinking in the dormitories. But in many respects the fines are arbitrary: 15 Euros for revealing one’s pay and dismissal for “creating a very bad work atmosphere”.
Twenty people crammed into one room
Many of the Chinese mobile telephone factory workers are young women from the countryside and remit part of their wages back home. The rent for a single room outside the factory in China is about 50-75 Euros a month. In order that accommodation doesn’t consume all the salary, many workers choose to stay in the free dormitories provided by the factory or for a few euros. And since nothing good is attained for cheap much less free, in the worse case over 20 people are crammed into one room. Heat and lack of potable water or its poor quality are the problems mentioned in the report.
As a solution to all of the workers’ problems – too much overtime and poor living and working conditions, Silenced to Deliver proposes independent trade union activity. The state-controlled trade union in China ACFTU, has taken cautious steps towards allowing freedom to organise trade unions. In the background strikes and other protests have increased. From 1996 to 2006 labour disputes and strikes have increased seven fold, from 48 000 a year to 317 000.
Eyes on Nokia in the long-term
There is also a comment by mobile phone giant Nokia in the report. According to Nokia’s point of view the claims of workers of factory of A, B and C presented in the reports are not true, are based on misunderstanding or are the results of omissions by individuals. According the company, the practices of placing overtime by companies can be improved and have been improved in 2007-2008.
According to the report subcontractors were not aware of the contents of Nokia’s ethical Code of conduct.
Nokia’s comments raise more questions. What are the sources of Nokia’s information that are better than those of the report and what are the use of Nokia’s Code of Conducts if workers of subcontractors are not aware of their contents?
The business manager of Nokia, Pekka Isosomppi stresses the long-term work of the company with the subcontractors. In addition to the subcontractors’ own self auditing, Nokia conducts week-long auditing in about every two years. In places classified as risk areas inspections are conducted more often.
- The auditing is thorough. We really just don’t visit factories and ask the directors and ask the managers how are you. Findings are compared to previous reports, and there is a look at what has been corrected after the previous evaluation, says Isosomppi.
According to him, it is inappropriate that workers of the subcontractors would know the contents of Nokia’s ethical guidelines. The most important is to know the contents of the guidelines of one’s own employer, and that they are more in conformity with those of Nokia’s.
- Concerning the placing of overtime work and the lack of protection at the work place mentioned in the report, it could be due to incompetence or ignorance also on the part of the leadership and the company, says Pekka Isosomppi
- Speaking at the general level irreversible change can only be achieved by legislation and increasing law enforcement.
According to Isosomppi, for instance, the new Chinese labour law is very progressive. It is very important that law enforcement and official supervision at the local level is made effective.
But couldn’t Nokia emulate the model of computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard which is not based on laws and the action of officials. According to that model, HP tries to inform the workers of its subcontractors about the basic issues of organising and protecting their interests, so at least the worst instances of working conditions violations would be exposed and removed.
- Nokia also works from the bottom up, certainly within the frame of the laws of the country in question. From Nokia’s perspective it would be good for workers to protect their interests and good work practices would become widespread.
- Violations of labour conditions and ignoring the recommendations of ILO doesn’t bring us added value, it is not good business. There is never too much of knowledgeable workers, on the contrary there is a shortage of them, says Pekka Isosomppi.
A letter from me to you
In order that the global brand name companies remember their responsibility, planning is taking place for a MakeITfair postcard campaign in Finland and other European countries. The Fair trade movement (Repu) has taken charge of distributing 10 000 postcards to young people. Repu is an NGO whose aim is to promote a fair and ecologically sustainable world trade.
With already printed questions in the cards, young people can approach their mobile manufacturer and ask if the manufacture of its mobile phones is done under humane conditions.
- When the brand name companies demand their subcontractors to reduce costs every year and at the same time tighten environmental norms and improve working conditions, it is an impossible equation in the long run, said Päivi Pöyhönen.
According to the study commissioned by MakeITfair, European youth are willing to pay about ten per cent more for their mobile phones or mp-3 players if they are fairly produced. Why wouldn’t the same few Euros for fairness involve us the older ones too?
The whole report, Silenced to Deliver can be downloaded in English:
http://makeitfair.org/faktoja/taustaselvitykset/
Participate in the postcard campaign over the net:
http://makeitfair.org/take-action/email-action-2
