After a string of suicides in Foxconn's China factories, home to some 400,000 workers who manufacture electronic devices for giants such as HP, Dell, and Apple, the management announced it plans to raise workers' salaries by 20%.
Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry, the anchor of Foxconn Technology Group, claims the salary increase has been planned for some time, but doesn't say when the raise will be implemented. The timing of the announcement is most probably tied to the suicides at the Foxconn factory, as another employee jumped to his death on Wednesday, bringing the total suicide toll in 2010 to ten.
"It may help the suicide situation, because we workers just need money and the financial pressure on us is great," a Foxconn employee said.
In another effort to stop the suicides, Foxconn also said it plans to raise safety nets around the dormitories and factory buildings. Meanwhile, Apple, HP and Dell said they're independently investigating the conditions in Foxconn's factories.