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China Company Halts Compensation for Suicide Victims' Families

   VOA News 08 June 2010
   A local resident holds flowers and a sign that reads "Foxconn, twelfth
   jump,  not  harmonious"  to mourn the workers who committed suicide at
   the  entrance  of  the Foxconn complex in the southern Chinese city of
   Shenzhen Thursday, May 27, 2010.

Photo: AP

   A  Chinese man mourns workers who committed suicide at the entrance of
   the  Foxconn  complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, 27 May
   2010

   Chinese  electronics  manufacturer  Foxconn says it will stop offering
   financial   compensation   to  the  families  of  employees  who  kill
   themselves, in an effort to end a recent spate of suicides.
   Eleven  workers have killed themselves at Foxconn plants in China this
   year.

   China's  state-run  news  agency,  Xinhua,  reported Tuesday that most
   victims'  families  receive  more  than $14,600 in compensation.  The
   report  cites  Foxconn officials who say they have solid evidence that
   some employers killed themselves for the financial payoff.
   Foxconn,  which  manufacturers products for companies including Apple,
   Hewlett-Packard  and  Dell, recently announced plans to raise salaries
   by up to 66 percent to improve working conditions.
   Shares  in  Foxconn's parent corporation, Taiwan's Hon Hai  Precision
   Industry  Company, fell in recent trading due to concerns that the pay
   increase will cut into profits.
   Protesters  demonstrated  outside  of Hon Hai's shareholder meeting in
   Hong  Kong  Tuesday,  calling  on  Apple  to  put more pressure on the
   company to improve labor conditions.
   Apple  Chief  Executive  Steve  Jobs  has  expressed concern about the
   recent  deaths  at plants that make Apple's iPhone, but has denied the
   factories are sweatshops.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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