Fair Trade means fair conditions equality, and nothing else

Otherwise, it’s not fair trade and price equity should enforced at the border with the funds going to the CIA for the development of REAL workers unions in the offending nation, so that health and safety conditions may be the same as american workers.

AND THE MANUFACTURING COSTS BECOME FAIR INSTEAD OF $1.78/HOUR

That’s right, the people in a factory employed ONE HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE (larger than how many cities in the USA?) pays their line workers $1.78/hour. 

Hearing me Apple (among many many others)?

Report: Dozens Arrested After Riot at Foxconn Factory

Dozens of workers at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, China were arrested this week after a clash with security staff, according to a report.

Taiwan-basedWant China Times (WCT)reported that the clash broke out Monday night at a male dormitory for Foxconn workers. Security guards had attempted to stop a thief, when several employees with grudges against the officers forced them away.

The situation rapidly escalated, and up to 1,000 workers eventually joined in, WCT reported. Workers threw trash bins, chairs, pots, bottles, and even fireworks from the upper floors of the building, destroying public facilitates.

The riot ended after two hours, after dorm administrators reported the case to local police and hundreds of officers arrived at the scene to suppress the violence. Dozens were arrested.

Foxconn, the world’s largest electronic contract manufacturer, employs up to 120,000 people at its plant in Chengdu, located in southwestern China. The factory mainly produces liquid crystal displays for electronic products such as Apple’s iPhone.

Foxconn has repeatedly come under fire for harsh working conditions. Late last month, a watchdog group released astudythat criticized Foxconn for limited freedoms, inhumane treatment, and unsafe working conditions, among other things. An earlierApple-commissioned reportfrom the Fair Labor Association found abuses at Foxconn facilities, but said that the firm had agreed to make changes.

ABC’s Nightlinealso gained access to a Foxconn factory recently, and did not uncover any particularly shocking conditions, while This American Life was forced to retract a controversial episode about Apple factories in China that featured storyteller Mike Daisey. An explosion at the Chengdu factory last year killed two workers and injured 16 others.

However….

Watchdog Group Slams Foxconn Working Conditions (Again)

A watchdog group released astudythis week that criticizes Foxconn for limited freedoms, inhumane treatment, and unsafe working conditions, among other things.

China, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) visited Foxconn production sites in Zhengzhou and Shenzhen - where various Apple products are produced - between March and May 2012 and found that labor rights violations “remain the norm.”

SACOM was not comforted byan Apple-commissioned reportfrom the Fair Labor Association (FLA), which also found abuses at Foxconn facilities, but said that the firm had agreed to make changes.

Foxconn workers do not have access to the FLA report, SACOM said, and promised cutbacks to overtime will reduce wages. Still, the group also complained about excessive overtime for iPad workers, which caused many to miss Chinese New Year celebrations.

SACOM also said that workers are forced to sign up for a company-controlled union without knowing what that entails. They must also endure “humiliating” disciplinary action like the writing and reading of confession letters and manual labor like toilet cleaning.

Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is not the first time SACOM has criticized Foxconn. In May 2011,the group released a reportthat said most Foxconn employees were working long hours for little pay, battling exposure to dust and harmful chemicals, and undergoing “military style” training sessions.

Working conditions at Foxconn have received a lot of press lately, prompting the Apple-sponsored FLA inspections. ABC’s Nightlinealso gained access to a Foxconn factory recently, which did not uncover any particularly shocking conditions, while This American Life was forced to retract a controversial episode about Apple factories in China that featured storyteller Mike Daisey.