American graduate students who infiltrated the factory in China that manufactures the iPhone confess their working environment naked

Apple's iPhone is produced at a factory where major EMS is located in China. In the iPhone manufacturing factory, the bad working environment often becomes a problem, and every time Apple is chased by fire, promises to improve the situation, it is a routine trend. Graduate students in the United States hide their identity, infiltrate the iPhone manufacturing factory in China, work as a period worker, and speak frankly about the actual condition of the iPhone manufacturing factory.

Inside the Chinese iPhone factory - "Study workers who saw the students at New York University" | BUSINESS INSIDER JAPAN
https://www.businessinsider.jp/post-1703

Dejian Zeng who attends the New York University graduate school in the United States worked as a period worker in the summer of 2016 by sneaking into the ChangShuo factory of Pegatron which is entrusted with manufacture of iPhone from Apple. Zeng's aim is to confirm the working environment of the iPhone manufacturing factory with your own eyes and to confirm the labor problems of the Chinese workers lying there. Since the promise of improvement by Apple was reported that the bad work environment of ChangShuo factory was reported in the media in 2014 and 2016, it seems that he decided to work focusing on whether the problem is actually solved.


Zeng confesses the working environment at the iPhone manufacturing factory to Naka Naka according to the interview of Business Insider. In addition, although Pegatron refused comment for Business Insider's pre-coverage, Apple said "We are doing 16 audits at ChangShuo factory, work hours of 99% workers are less than 60 hours a week, The average working hours of workers assembling Apple products is 43 hours a week. "

◆ Recruitment test
Zeng who arrived at the ChangShuo factory saw a long row made by people applying for the workers. When the row goes forward and becomes Zeng's number, recruiters have told them to show their hands. After checking whether there is no finger deletion or hindrance to work, a test to recite the alphabet. This is because it uses English letters like 'E 26' on the assembly line. In addition, it seems that people who can not read and write alphabets were adopted by being taught on the spot, Zeng says that hurdles for employment tests are very low and what you want is hired .


Passing a simple test at the counter will take a fingerprint and proceed to a physical examination, but Zeng says that it was necessary to pay 70 yuan (about 1100 yen) for the physical examination for a fee. People who do not have money sometimes receive physical exams by borrowing money from someone. By the way, before the money is collected, "If you are pregnant or have a tattoo of ten centimeters or more in it, you can not enter the factory," the doctor told you, the person who thinks at this stage Leave the row.

Although it was also obliged to receive vaccination, it is sometimes asked in a large room with more than 100 people, asking questions like "Is the immune system problem in progress" assuming HIV patients? Zeng pointed out problems as to whether there was privacy violation.

We also pass physical examinations and training on safety education and salary will be done once registration of face authentication is over. Although the slide on overtime, social security, mobile platform, WeChat seemed to cover all ranges, "Because explanation is very fast, we could not completely understand even paying full attention," Zeng Says.

Dorm life
Most of the workers live in dorms outside the factory premises. Zeng is living in an eight-person room and he seems to have shared only one shower room. In addition, it is said that the hot water may come out if the luck is good in the shower, and that even if the luck is not bad, the water does not go out.

Although there is Wi-Fi in the dormitory, it is a fee-based system that can be used by purchasing virtual coins. It takes 20 coins (about 16 yen) for 100 coins to spend 5 yuan (about 80 yen) and 24 hours Wi-Fi. Apart from the Internet, it seems to spend playing video games at Internet cafes, watching movies, talking on the phone, but by the time they get back to the dormitory they are exhausted, most people are going through a movie Just to see, it is a daily routine to sleep.


Zeng's dorm is about ten minutes by car from the factory and commuting to the factory was using the shuttle bus. Zeng, who was in charge of night shift for the first time in work, took a shuttle bus at 7 o'clock when getting up at 6 o'clock or 6.30 o'clock, arrived at the factory at 7:15 pm and work started at 7:30 pm It is said that it was a schedule. In addition, the dormitory was not compulsory, but a lover or a person accompanying the family could have rented the apartment near the factory, but Zeng says the rent is expensive.

◆ Working on production line
Zeng was assigned to the final assembly line called FATP at ChangShuo factory. In the department (station) in charge of the final process of assembly, Zeng's job of attaching one screw to the housing (casing) of the iPhone moving on the line. Although it was Zeng who was desperate to catch up with the flowing speed for the first few days, it seems that the pace has gradually come to be able to grasp the pace while continuing to tighten one screw every day coming day , And eventually it has become a level where screws can be stopped even if you close your eyes. Then, the work turns into boring things, and occasionally when chatting with each other, it seems to be noted that "to avoid voice" to the line manager to monitor.

Zeng, who had been doing the fixing work of the speaker of the iPhone 6 at the beginning, moved to the work of the protector part of the camera, and since August 2016 he was involved in the manufacture of the iPhone 7 before the release. IPhone 7 before release is still in prototype stage, the line is built exclusively, work is totally different thing. Production of iPhone 7 is said that Pegatron employees called "clients", Apple employees are monitoring and they were nervous.

Work is only part of the work of making only 5 phones in 12 hours a day, sometimes it waits for almost 2 hours without doing anything when the work is finished, and all workers are torturing work He seems to have felt. It often happens that he sleeps after being attacked by a sleeper. Every time I heard the footsteps of the line manager, it was Zeng who was awaking himself saying "It's useless, useless, no good," but I was sleeping He says he was not allowed to sit down, "Stand up".

◆ meal
Work is permitted to take a 10-minute break when working for 2 hours in a row. However, night shift is a battle with the sleepers, and many people sleep in a short break time. If you work for 4 hours there is a 50 minute meal break, and everyone working at the factory will eat at the huge canteen. Meals are vegetables, meat, bread, noodles, etc. The amount varies depending on the dish, but it is said that the price is roughly 5 yuan (about 80 yen) to 8 yuan (about 130 yen). When asked about meal quality, Zeng says, "It can not be said that it is very high quality, for example chicken does not see breast meat or thigh meat, it is meat that can not be identified at all times in the neck or other parts, but Workers are so hungry that they can eat anything and keep their mind and body normal, above all, I do not think it's a good thing, but I do not have any other options. "

There seems to be some restaurants in the factory's premises to eat after work but it seems that it is a very high charge of 20 yuan (about 320 yen).


◆ Colleague
Mr. Zeng, who formed a friend during training and dormitory living together, felt that a common stereotype was a mistake. Zeng said, "I talked about the news at that time such as the inter-Korean relations in China, the US-China relations, diplomatic issues in the South China Sea, etc. I also talked about topics of entertainment and gossip of famous people. Sometimes we even talked about American history, "he says that many Americans tend to think that workers at the iPhone factory in China are unreasonable, but that is not the case at all.

And I also correctly recognized that the work we do everyday is "making iPhone", and we were able to talk about Apple's history and design with some Apple fans. However, there are few people who own iPhone, "Many people said they used Chinese made smartphones such as Oppo.

◆ Overtime and salary
Zeng says that the basic working hours per day is 8 hours, but the time to finish the job depends on overtime. Mostly overtime is 2.5 hours from Monday to Thursday, 2 hours on Friday and Saturday and overtime will spend 12 hours in the factory on a certain day. According to Zeng, overtime is multiplied by 1.5 times on weekdays, twice the wage on Saturday, Apple says it keeps the rules. However, Zeng says that the big problem is that overtime is half mandated, even if you are tired, it can not be refused.

Incidentally, one of Zeng's colleagues said that "When Ihmone 7's mass production began, I worked on Sunday and worked on 11 consecutive days," some people said. Although such undeliveed work completely violates Apple's employment rules, colleagues said time cards were passed through as usual, and it is unclear how the factory was processing Zeng says it does not.

Zeng was paid 3100 yuan (about 49,000 yen) in the first month, including overtime work impossible to refuse. According to Zeng, all the workers were supposed to have been given the same amount. A worker manufacturing an iPhone can finally get an iPhone by accumulating salary without using it for two months.

Zeng, who was asked "What advice would you give advice on an opinion that bothers the poor working environment?" Zeng said, "It is not realistic to call boycotts for Apple products, it is very unlikely to stop purchasing Apple products It should be hard to discuss more about this, you should post about it on social media, talk with your colleagues day and night, just as you are using the hands you are using iPhone is made with human hands That's it. "

· Continued
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