China Voice: Foxconn labor scandal embarrassment to gov't service

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-10-18 19:06:19

Foxconn, the world's largest electronics manufacturer, owes a great deal to China's local authorities, as they have patronized it regardless of the scandals it has created.

Foxconn admitted on Tuesday that its factory in east China's city of Yantai employed underage interns between the ages 14 and 16.

The company later said that it would work with local government to bar the schools involved in the Yantai incident from the intern program.

Actually, these underage workers were among thousands of students sent from vocational schools in Yantai to the factory after Foxconn turned to the Administration Committee of the Yantai Development Zone for help in solving a severe labor shortage that occurred in September, when the company reported a shortage of 19,000 workers.

Without the committee's intervention, the schools would not have taken a tough stance and compelled students to do "mandatory internships" at Foxconn.

The government's efficient response in addressing Foxconn's problems is not uncommon in China.

Inland Chinese cities vye for the company's attention whenever it offers to build a new plant. As the leading supplier for Apple Inc., Dell Inc. and Sony Corp., Foxconn is seldom short of orders.

When it comes to Foxconn, local authorities are generous in giving them access to public resources, from approving land use to recruiting cheap labor.

The government of central China's Henan Province opened a mobilization meeting after Foxconn announced that it would set up a plant there in 2010. It gave administrative orders to lower-level governments asking for their full support for the Foxconn project.

A colossal workforce for the company was swiftly recruited within a month, as labor hiring quotas were given to local officials through the administrative system.

The labor-intensive manufacturing business can indeed invigorate local economies and create jobs.

Shi Pu, a professor with the Henan University of Economics and Law, said Foxconn has been given the "supernational treatment" because it has been a prominent contributor to local GDPs through the establishment of its factories.

China has been working hard to build service-oriented governments.

A clean, efficient and transparent government should serve the general public, not just certain companies.

Posted in: Companies

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