Nope, the MIC I refer to in the subject line is not Malaysian Indian Congress. It means Made in China.
There were two big news for Apple fans recently – one good and the other bad. The good news was Apple had announced the much-awaited iPhone 4. The bad news was that Foxconn, the company which made iPhone in China, had agreed to raise the wages of its workers by as much as 66%.
Foxconn’s factory in China had been criticized as sweatshop following spates of suicide attempts among the workers. To appease the workers, and to repair image, the contract manufacturer was forced to hike the wages. This essentially means the cost for making iPhone will increase. Ultimately the higher cost will be passed on to the consumers. Expect higher price for iPhone.
But Foxconn was not the only company to have faced with higher cost issue. Honda also had to increase the wages of its employees in China after they staged a walkout. Eventually, factories workers in the Middle Kingdom will demand better pay and better working condition. In the next few years, expect everything made in China – from iPhones to DVD players to fridge magnets – to sell for higher price.
In long run, multi-national companies may move their production lines to still cheaper countries such as Vietnam or Cambodia. Until then, tighten your belt.
Haha :D I thought MIC is our MIC. :)
ReplyDeleteI echo Tekkaus' comment...hehe.
ReplyDeleteGiven China's prosperity, the rich-poor divide is so so far off.
ReplyDeleteI think it's good news for these chinese workers to get a dramatic payrise, though the improved pay is still far off from other countries.
Okay, hear the socialist me talk! I think it's great the workers' wages are raised. Seriously, considering the price of iSomething goods, they should at least get a good share of it.
ReplyDeletePlus in my opinion, if you can afford buying an iPhone or iWhatever, you can pay a few dollars more and indirectly do your share to end appealing work conditions.
tekkaus, Mei Teng
ReplyDeleteHaha... I didn't want to make the title too long, so I use acronym.
shingo, Zhu
Agree that the workers deserve better pay.
Well I don't mind paying more if they improve on the quality though..
ReplyDeleteBtw, 4 Kings = 4 dai tin wong in Cantonese :P Maybe I should have written "4 big sky kings" LOL!
I'm all for improving working conditions. I've read about some atrocious working conditions.
ReplyDeleteI like your new template - big enough print and color scheme is easy on the eyes. Great job!
my friend bought an iphone... i mean made in china. the different between the 'original' iphone and the one made in china, it doesn't has TV. hehe... so which one is better?
ReplyDeletejust that, people keep pointing at her and ask:
"oi china punya ka?"
but to me, who cares? :)
aiyoh, MIC just make us so easily link with the recent GAS campaign lor.. hahaha :D
ReplyDeletewell, i guess what we are using now, a lot are made in china.. just look around your accessories and electrical appliances, all MIC..
ReplyDeletehmmm, for sure iPhone 4G will be more expensive, but to which extent?? and somemore Foxconn is gonna have 66% cost increase..
ReplyDeleteok ok, so really not impacting me at all, cos i still have not planned to have an iPhone yet~~ :p
ReplyDeletewitch
ReplyDeleteHa... Chinese quality control...
happysurfer
I didn't create the new template.
Faisar
Aren't all iPhones made in China?
SK
Not just iPhone will cost more. All other things MIC will be impacted.
It is always the little people who will LUGI.
ReplyDeletePeople can boycott if they want to.
http://www.enufisenuf.co.nz/
ReplyDeleteGo back to my post, I added more info and linked to the above. This has nice video, but can be disturbing.
ur background same v me?hehe....wat is navbar?dun understand....
ReplyDeleteread about Foxconn news, sound so scary.
ReplyDeletep/s: thanks for telling me the title mistake, just changed. xoxo (^.^)
Ann
ReplyDeleteApple die hard fans won't boycott iPhone.
I have gone back to your post...
stacey
Navbar is the bar on top of your page.
kikey
No problem :)