The image Microsoft doesn't want you to see

24 Apr. 2010 02:34am

The image Microsoft doesn't want you to see: Too tired to stay awake, the Chinese workers earning just 34p an hour
By LIZ HULL and LEE SORRELL

Showing Chinese sweatshop workers slumped over their desks with exhaustion, it is an image that Microsoft won't want the world to see.
Employed for gruelling 15-hour shifts, in appalling conditions and 86f heat, many fall asleep on their stations during their meagre ten-minute breaks.
For as little as 34p an hour, the men and women work six or seven days a week, making computer mice and web cams for the American multinational computer company.

Worn out: Some of the workers making computer accessories for Microsoft at a Chinese factory

This photo and others like it were smuggled out of the KYE Systems factory at Dongguan, China, as part of a three-year investigation by the National Labour Committee, a human rights organisation which campaigns for workers across the globe.
The mostly female workers, aged 18 to 25, work from 7.45am to 10.55pm, sometimes with 1,000 workers crammed into one 105ft by 105ft room.
They are not allowed to talk or listen to music, are forced to eat substandard meals from the factory cafeterias, have no bathroom breaks during their shifts and must clean the toilets as discipline, according to the NLC.
The workers also sleep on site, in factory dormitories, with 14 workers to a room. They must buy their own mattresses and bedding, or else sleep on 28in-wide plywood boards. They 'shower' with a sponge and a bucket.
And many of the workers, because they are young women, are regularly sexually harassed, the NLC claimed.
The organisation said that one worker was even fined for losing his finger while operating a hole punch press.
Microsoft is not the only company to outsource manufacturing to KYE, but it accounts for about 30 per cent of the factory's work, the NLC said. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech and Asus also use KYE Systems.
Microsoft, which exports much of the hardware made at the factory to America, Europe and Japan, said that it is taking the claims seriously and has begun an investigation.
One employee told the NLC: 'We are like prisoners. It seems like we live only t

rk - we do not work to live. We do not live a life, only work.'
The NLC's report included an account from one worker whose job consisted entirely of sticking selfadhesive rubber feet to the bottom of Microsoft computer mice.
But the monotony of sitting or standing for 12 hours, applying foot after foot to mouse after mouse, was not the worst of the worker's testimony.
It was the militaristic management and sleep deprivation that affected the worker most. 'I know I can choose not t

rk overtime, but if I don't work overtime then I am stuck with only 770 Chinese yuan (£72.77p) per month in basic wages,' the worker said.
'This is not nearly enough to support a family. My parents are farmers without jobs. They also do not have pensions.
'I also need t

rry about getting married, which requires a lot of money. Therefore, I still push myself to continue working in spite of my exhaustion.
'When I finish my four hours of overtime, I'm extremely tired. At that time, even if someone offered me an extravagant dinner, I'd probably refuse. I just want to sleep.'
Charles Kernaghan, executive director of the NLC, said: 'It sounded like torture - the frantic pace on the assembly line, same motion over and over for the 12 hours or more of work they did.'
Microsoft said it was committed to the 'fair treatment and safety of workers'. A spokesman added: 'We are aware of the NLC report and we have commenced an investigation.
'We take these claims seriously and we will take appropriate remedial measures in regard to any findings of misconduct.'

Read more: Microsoft's Chinese workforce, too tired to stay awake | Mail Online

**Raivu** · 24 Apr. 2010 02:42am

o.< I couldn't read this. I was too busy fixing the mac that just failed on me again.

[in all without joking] I think that kind of labor is harsh but I wouldn't blame Microsoft for it, as much as the person who controls how long they work.

24 Apr. 2010 02:46am

Originally Posted by Raivu

o.< I couldn't read this. I was too busy fixing the mac that just failed on me again.

[in all without joking] I think that kind of labor is harsh but I wouldn't blame Microsoft for it, as much as the person who controls how long they work.

Macs are easy to fix. If there is a major problem take it to the Apple store.

I think it is a little too harsh, considering Microsoft is the richest company in the US (and around the world). Gates can afford to loose a some money to get more employee's.

24 Apr. 2010 02:59am

Eh, Macs are for people who can't manage a computer, which isn't bad.
But if you can take care of a computer without fucking it up, Windows is the best as long as you have knowledge on how to keep it clean.
And if they didn't like the hours / pay, they shouldn't have signed up.

**Weird_guy_3000** · 24 Apr. 2010 03:00am

This is terrible.
I mean they have the choice to keep the jobs..........

**Senpai** · 24 Apr. 2010 03:01am

Well, the work the workers put into Microsoft is a LOT.
Microsoft is a HUGE company and their constantly competing with other companies to stay on top.
N

nder they're so tired all the time.

**Artificial** · 24 Apr. 2010 03:06am

You have to understand that Microsoft is a huge company, and more then likely didn't even know this was going on. There's no way they would risk so much negative publicity over something so trivial as this isolated incident. Large companies often outsource manufacturing, and they effectively put their trust in these Chinese operations. Moreover, I would find it very hard to believe if they didn't have some form of certification for meeting industry guidelines (most manufacturers in China adhere to international standards). It appears the manufacturers were distrustful, not Microsoft.

**C0FFINCASE** · 24 Apr. 2010 03:18am

Originally Posted by Eternal Darkness

Macs are easy to fix. If there is a major problem take it to the Apple store.

I think it is a little too harsh, considering Microsoft is the richest company in the US (and around the world). Gates can afford to loose a some money to get more employee's.

That's not how the game is played. I'd imagine he's looking to cut any more corners he can to make whatever bit more of money now that Obama is taxing his ass to hell. Arti is also right. But they outsource so they can get cheaper labor and more of it so end the end they are hope for a similar situation to this just not as dramatic.
If the people are willing t

rk then Microsoft has no reason not t

rk them. They don't have t

rk overtime and they don't have t

rk for Microsoft.

**Snipex01** · 24 Apr. 2010 04:29am

Wow that's pretty crazy stuff, I couldn't read it all, I read up until the picture was shown.. That is really crazy.. But yeah Microsoft is a big company.

**zackry** · 24 Apr. 2010 06:20am

Only few cents+overtime,so cheap Microsoft.

**chowchig** · 25 Apr. 2010 12:43pm

Hey they wanted work so they got it, if they don't like it they can become a hobo. Sure they may be stuck in hard situation, but you still have to get through it.

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