Monday, April 2, 2012

Apple moves to share cost burden in China


Mr. Cook visits China’s assemble lines to view how things are going.  FLA argues that Mr. Cook should do more for the employees.  Improvements from varies countries are demanding that Apple provide a living wage for Chinese workers so they did not have to work excessive overtime, and reduce working hours to legal limits.  Mr. Cook went over to help sooth some of the problems that people are having.  While there, people argued more intensely that they should be paid more.  The last time that pay was raised, Apple took the cost.  What I liked from the article is that they do get paid well for china and last week there were 1000 people queuing up for interviews.

Robert Ostler

1 comment:

  1. This is an interesting topic for me as an economics minor. Economics would say that if the wage really were too low, then Apple would be unable to induce enough workers to fill their labor needs. The fact that many more people want a job there than can get one suggests to me that the supply is greater than the demand, which means that the wage being paid is actually higher than it needs to be. So, technically, Apple shouldn't 'need' to raise their wages. On the other hand, just because Apple CAN pay a low wage, does that mean that they SHOULD on the basis of morality? If we put economics on the shelf and enter into a morality/ethical question, then should Apple pay employees such that they are able to make a living and perhaps even save a little for retirement/rainy day? That's a question for politicians or sociology majors... Intriguing article.

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