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Originally Posted by HansTWN
You really have a rather slanted view, that is not based on any real observation, but just on some reports you read on some websites.
In China, the first question of workers applying for a job has always been "do you have overtime"? Over the past 20 years, however, the answer they expect has changed. 20 years ago they were hoping for "yes, we work plenty of overtime", that way more money could be made.
But now we are looking at the generation of the "little emperors". Single children, that were coddled by their parents. Hard work is not on the menu. They would rather have more free time than more money. The $500.- I gave is without overtime.
Forget your Dickensian horror scenarios, not that they don't exist in China at all (some small local companies still ride their employees real hard, probably turning out the $70.- tablets and other ultra-cheap items), but not at big companies working for international brands. Those are under constant scrutiny, they couldn't do that even if they wanted it. Besides, do you really think that a company like Foxconn wouldn't want to hire workers that are motivated, skilled, and work hard? Could the cheapest of the cheap workers even function in such an environment?
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Look, you view China in an idealistic way. Its a known fact that Foxconn offered the cheapest price because it got its workers not from the cities but from rural areas and then trained them up. Of course they want as much overtime as possible, of course they're willing to work hard.... because as I said, they don't have a choice. Since everyone wants the overtime its expected and so Foxconn naturally takes advantage of that.
When Apple says they're going to release an Iphone 5 on a certain date, the factories go into overdrive, with workers taking on two sometimes three shifts in a row without rest. For a lot of these people this is the only game in town if they want to make some money.
As for the 'little emperors' you talk about, they will not be found in computer factories and represent a very small portion of the population.