A 10th employee of Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) in Shenzhen jumped to his death late on Wednesday, just hours after the company’s chairman promised to make life better for employees at the sprawling production site.
The company did not give details of the death, but Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that an initial police investigation indicated the 23-year-old man from northwest China had committed suicide by jumping from a seventh-floor dormitory balcony.
Another employee at the Shenzhen campus attempted to slit his wrists, but survived with medical attention, Xinhua said late yesterday.
PHOTO: EPA
A worker committed suicide at a Foxconn plant in Hebei Province in January, making the total death toll 11.
The deaths have thrown a spotlight on the labor practices of Foxconn, a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), whose clients include Apple, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Sony Ericsson.
Apple and others have said they are investigating working conditions at Foxconn, which has some 420,000 employees at its base in Shenzhen. Dell and HP said yesterday they were looking into conditions in Shenzhen.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“We’re investigating the reports. Any reports of poor working conditions in Dell’s supply chain are investigated and, if warranted, appropriate action is taken,” Dell spokeswoman Sharon Zhang said. “We expect our suppliers to employ the same high standards we do in our own facilities.”
An HP spokesperson said: “As with all concerns that are raised about our suppliers, HP is investigating the Foxconn practices that may be associated with these tragic events.”
Workers live inside the factory complex and churn out products in round-the-clock shifts.
Taipei-based Hon Hai spokesman Arthur Huang confirmed the 10th death but denied reports on three Taiwanese TV stations that another person, a young woman, had also jumped late on Wednesday, surviving with serious injuries.
Just hours before the latest reports, Foxconn and Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) had opened the facilities in Shenzhen to reporters and vowed to take sweeping action to prevent more deaths.
Gou made another trip back to the plant yesterday.
All 10 of the deaths in Shenzhen have been of young migrant workers, among the millions who leave the poor hinterland of China for the boomtowns of the south and east coastal areas in search of work and high wages. Two others have been seriously injured after also jumping from buildings, in incidents that labor groups say expose the harsh working conditions at Foxconn
Li Ping (李平), secretary-general of the Shenzhen municipal government, told a news conference on Wednesday that the pressure of being away from home with little care from society was part of a complex set of factors underpinning the suicides.
He said the government was joining with the police and Foxconn to consider a range of ideas such as building up sports and cultural facilities to improve the living environment, Xinhua reported.
The firm was training about 100 mental health counsellors and installing 1.5 million square metres of nets to stop workers from jumping, Xinhua said.
The safety nets will cover nearly all dormitories and factories.
“Although this seems like a dumb measure, at least it could save a life should anyone else fall,” Gou was quoted as saying.
In another sign of unrest in southern China, Japanese car maker Honda said yesterday a labor dispute had shut down one of its parts plants, causing the closure of four car making plants.
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