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Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by klyrs on Thursday December 30, 2021 @01:20PM (#29739545)
Apple is making money hand over fist, and they've got nearly $200B cash on hand. They aren't directly responsible for the working conditions, but they set the terms of the contract. They could pay more, and demand humane treatment and living wages in their contract. With that warchest, they could afford their own manufacturing facilities -- Foxxcon vs Petragon is a false dichotomy. But they don't. This is their responsibility, but they prefer to keep it at arms-length and pretend that they don't know what conditions will result from paying a certain price per unit.
Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by mohanmcgeek on Thursday December 30, 2021 @01:28PM (#29739647)
The factory in question doesn't make just iphones. It also makes Amazon firesticks "among other things"

Apple specifically getting called out here is odd to say the least. Besides, Apple is the only company that has put the said plant under probation. If anything, the other companies should be getting some flak for not even caring.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/rumour-lea...

Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by gruez on Thursday December 30, 2021 @01:45PM (#29739858)
>Apple specifically getting called out here is odd to say the least.

"a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic"

Saying "$COMPANY treats its workers poorly" provides a concrete entity to be mad at and might lead to some protests/social media posts, whereas saying "most electronics makers treat their workers poorly probably leads to a resounding "that sucks but what can you do?".

Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by zdragnar on Thursday December 30, 2021 @02:49PM (#29740662)
Ah yes, the "but Something has to be done" fallacy.

Placing blame arbitrarily, directing anger at the wrong people, and protesting because the mob said to on social media all leads to solutions for the wrong problems.

Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by klyrs on Thursday December 30, 2021 @02:51PM (#29740685)
I don't have standing for any legal act in India. I can boycott and criticize the company that's doing business in my country. And that's why we focus on Apple -- the company whose reputation is so important to its market value.
Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by klyrs on Thursday December 30, 2021 @01:32PM (#29739701)
I agree, other companies should be getting flak for this. Apple does not deserve less attention. Apple has the power and financial standing to make a difference here. With great power comes great responsibility and all that.

Just because others are using this facility isn't an excuse by any means. Like I said, Apple could build another factory. They choose not to, because they profit from the human rights abuses.

Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by quesera on Thursday December 30, 2021 @01:43PM (#29739828)
> Apple could build another factory.

If you are knowledgeable about precision manufacturing and supply lines, you'll know that it is not that simple.

Apple shut the plant down. They are making a difference. Do you know what it was like before Apple arrived with enormous manufacturing requirements, and had the power to influence things? Not better!

Apple does not profit from human rights abuses. Apple writes contracts to prevent them. Those contracts are not always followed, and Apple's audits sometimes fail to turn up problems in time. This can be tragic, but it's blatantly incorrect to assert that Apple doesn't take this extremely seriously.

Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by lp0_on_fire on Thursday December 30, 2021 @02:31PM (#29740449)
> If you are knowledgeable about precision manufacturing and supply lines, you'll know that it is not that simple.

They have 200 BILLION dollars CASH on hand. It might not be "simple" but it's certainly not impossible when you're richer than Croesus.

Re:Crowded dorms,no flush toilets and food crawling with wor... by klyrs on Thursday December 30, 2021 @04:40PM (#29741775)
Indeed, I cannot understand how "you have $200B, there are more than two options here" could be interpreted to imply that a third option is necessarily simple.