IPhone Manufacturer Foxconn Boosts Employees' Wages 16 to 25 Percent

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 17, 2012

Foxconn, a manufacturing company that creates iPhones for Apple, has decided to raise its employees' wages by 16 to 25 percent, according to recent press release by Change.org.

This decision was influenced by petitions recently issued by the organization to several Apple stores in cities around the world, including Washington DC, New York, San Francisco, London, Sydney and Bangalore.

"Apple and its suppliers have both taken action this week in response to their consumers concern about the treatment if the Chinese factory workers," said Mark Shields the creator of Change.org. "These quick responses are great steps in the right direction, and I hope early signs of a genuine commitment by Apple to make sure that their products are made without abusing workers."

Shields hopes Apple will make permanent changes. "It would still be great to see Apple use some of its hallmark creativity to issue a worker protection plan so that the injuries and suicides that have marked new product launches to date, quickly become a thing of the past," he continued.

Workers in a Foxconn factory allegedly threatened to commit a mass suicide earlier this year for not receiving the wages they requested. Fortunately they did not go through with this. But low pay seems to be a serious issue in the realm of electronics production.

Mark Shields considers himself an Apple "super user" and he launched this viral campaign to assist factory workers in getting their proper wages after listening to a radio program detailing allegations of labor abuses at an Apple supplier factory in China, including child labor, serious physical injuries of workers from repetitive motions during long shifts, and stress related worker suicides.

The petition specifically calls Apple to investigate their supply factories more closely and develop some kind of comprehensive worker protection plan.