High-tech sweatshops?

The National Labor Committee recently released a report exposing poor conditions in the factories that make our computers in China:

According to the report, released this month, workers sit on hard wooden stools for 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. Overtime is mandatory, with workers being given on average two days off per month.

The report also said that while workers are on the production line, they are not allowed to raise their hands or their heads, and they are given 1.1 seconds to snap each key into place. Workers are prohibited from talking or listening to music and are encouraged “actively monitor each other” to see if any of the multiple company rules are being transgressed. They are also monitored by guards, according to the report.

It also found that workers are fined if they break the rules, that they are locked in the factory for four days per week, and that they sleep in crowded dormitories. The workers’ gross wage is 64 cents per hour, which the report claims “does not even come close to meeting subsistence level needs,” while their take-home pay is 41 cents per hour.

CNET reports that the NLC report has triggered an investigation by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC). While the NLC is happy there is going to be an investigation, they are less than thrilled that the date of the investigation was announced. That does seem a bit stupid, doesn’t it? I’m guessing that two weeks from now when the investigation takes place, workers and managers will be on their best behavior.