Parents of college students object to Foxconn 'internships'
Staff Reporter 2012-10-09 10:04
Schools at universities are paid almost US$120 for every student they can bring into a Foxconn factory, according to South People Weekly. (Photo/CNS)
The huge demand for the iPhone 5, released by Apple last month, has overstrained the capacities of Foxconn, Apple's major contract manufacturer, which producers the smartphones at its factories in China. The local government of Huai'an in eastern China's Jiangsu province has arranged for many local college students to work at the nearby Foxconn plant to help it cope with the labor shortage.
The move triggered widespread criticism from the media. In response, Foxconn stated that any interns can leave the factory at any time and schools have started to receive students unwilling to work at the factory coming back to class.
The electrical machinery departments of many local colleges have ane agreement with Foxconn, by which students must complete an internship at Foxconn as part of their curriculum. Many students initially felt they could learn some practical knowledge from the arrangement, but found instead that they were simply assigned to simple and routine work on production lines.
According to the agreement, employees at Foxconn work eight hours a day and have to work overtime only under special conditions. One intern revealed however that in practice employees must do two to three hours of overtime almost every day. The working day typically starts at 8:00am and often continues until 9:30pm. In addition, Foxconn had interns undertaking nightshift work.
The basic monthly pay at Foxconn was 1,320 yuan (US$209) last year, of which workers had to pay 110 yuan (US$17.50) for residence a month and 4.5 yuan (US$0.70) per meal.
The parents of many students expressed anger that their children had been assigned to work at Foxconn as part of their schoolwork.
Huai'an Broadcast and TV University dispatched their students to work at Foxconn as interns in late August shortly after they enrolled for the new semester. The internship is part of the curriculum and is required for their graduation. After receiving strong protest from some parents, however the school began accepting unwilling students back to school.
South People Weekly reveals that the local government offers a 100 yuan (US$15.90) subsidy to schools for every student they send to Foxconn. A claim posted on Weibo says that teachers are entitled to commission of 750 yuan (US$120) for each student they bring to the factory.
