Slashdot | Judging The Apple ‘Sweatshop’ Charge
Jun 19th 2006Stephen::Rants & ::Lifestyle & ::Human Rights & ::Fair Trade
Too cool for fair trade?jurgen writes
“MacWorld summarizes an article published in the U.K., stating that Apple’s iPods are made in China by women who work 15 hours/day, make $50/month, and have to pay half of that right back to the company for housing and food. The article also claims the workers live in dormitories where they are housed 100 per room, and are not allowed visitors.”
A Wired article looks at the same story, exploring the reliability of the Mail on Sunday’s claims. From that article:
“The situation is too murky for a rush to judgment on Apple’s ethics here, and it may well meet minimum global standards. But for a company that has staked its image on progressive politics, Apple has set itself up as a potential lightning rod on global labor standards. Sweatshops came back to bite Nike after its customers rose up in arms; and Apple can expect a similar grilling from its upscale Volvo-driving fans in the months ahead.”
Slashdot | Judging The Apple ‘Sweatshop’ Charge.
18 Comments »
Donna on 20 Mar 2007 at 9:31 pm #
Hi im a single mum, my son is turning 8 and yes i am being forced to work. Yes I want to work, I only gave up work (my career) because I was travelling interstate, my parents were able to look after my son and he asked me to stay home with him when he started school.
I have held a few casual jobs since giving up my career to raise my son.
The problem is that 95% of local jobs out there require shift work. and weekend work.
DUH. How can a single mother work till 9pm or on weekends.
No child care is available after 7pm or on weekends, so what do we do with our children.
OUR GOVERNMENT should have negotiated school hour positions for single parents, with the major companies.
The other problem now we need to look for work, is the extra costs involved with looking for work. Agencies supply a $10 petrol voucher, but how far will that get you.
I can get a job tommorrow as long as I can work till 9pm and on weekends, but who will mind my son. How do I get his dinner ready, get him bathed and ready for bed, when will i get to listen to him read and help him with his homework. It would be well 0past midnight before we would get to bed.
THIS IS JUST CRAZY
Stephen on 22 Mar 2007 at 6:34 pm #
Hey Donna, I wish there was something we could do. It is crazy, and you guys (single mum’s) really are some of the greatest hero’s in this nation. If there is anything we can do in terms of getting active politically or socially, please advise and I will make a major post on it for you.
advoc8 » Single Mum’s Strike Back… on 22 Mar 2007 at 6:38 pm #
[...] to make life particularly difficult for single mums in Oz. The original article is here… Pray for single mums in Australia. I just read a comment by Donna, a single mum in Australia who is facing the consequences of [...]
chris Hibbert on 19 May 2007 at 7:11 pm #
Sitting around house while the children are at school, why can’t these lazy mums go to work like all other tax payers.
i was the victim of a pregnant by deception tactic of a vile mother trying to get 18% of my salary.
the 3rd father to her 4th child she was a csual girlfreind that gave birth almost 9 months after I left the country.
Of course she lied to the court and tried to claim as defacto half of everything I owned.
Problem was she also was receiving social security all the time she was “with me”
So I have little time for single mothers getting pregnant to someone they know does not want a chils for the 18% windfall of what she may see as a large pay packet.
Deception is not only for the mother as I know claim unemployed and residing in another country.
She is not happy as the thought of her having sex with a lotto ticket have now dissapeared.
When will mothers be held accountable for the
duped dads forced into being parenthood they never wanted.
Creating a large amount of unwanted kids.
No matter if she cannot get my salary she is happy to get the extra money from the government to pay for her 4 bedroom 2 bathroom air conditioned new home, situated 1500 meters to the beach in a new suberb, bought by welfare money
She is now doing better than many full time employees in Australia, she cannot earn as much as the government would pay her so it’s days of our lives on TV every day and paid to be a mother she could never do in the phillipines where she came from.
HAHA all the do gooders she is richer than many of you
!!
get them working I say
!!
Christop on 24 May 2007 at 12:27 am #
Well, you know, sex makes kids. So if you don’t want to be tricked into becoming a dad, don’t have sex.
Sue White on 29 May 2007 at 6:37 am #
Well as the man says, you dont want kids, keep your dick in your pants.
There are plenty of us single mums out here, single by divorce or widdowed, who are doing it so really hard. You dont know how hard it is to even put food on the table sometimes.
I have worked all my adult life till my children came. Then while I have been out of the workforce raising my children, technology has flown by, and now I find I lack the current skills. Yes there are plenty of less demanding jobs out there, but as Donna said, most of it is not at all single parent friendly, with hours that dont fit in with being a mum.
I dearly want to work, but it is not so simple. We could be required to work in places within an hours drive. In the country that means you HAVE
to have a reliable car, and the cost of fuel often outweighs what you earn.
I am currently doing two courses to help me improve my chances, but at 54 with young children still at home, I am often overlooked for the younger and fitter.
Chris, I dont know what extra income your girlfriend is getting, because what I get certainly does not put me any where near luxury. You have been duped.
To all you other struggling single mums out there, “bring it on” you are the best.
Linda on 15 Aug 2007 at 7:24 pm #
In reply to the beautiful mother Donna. I too am a single mum after 8 years of marriage to a domestically abusive man who is very much in the same mindset of Chris in that he didn’t mind sticking his dick in but minds very much now having to pay for his four beautiful children. I lost my house due to him not paying for the house we bought together and chose to not pay maintenance and take ME TO family court as an unfit mother. MMMMMM I consider myself not a single mother but the Chief Executive Officer of the S family Corporation. Not only am I an excellent mother of twin boys and two girls but I work full time in a domestic violence crisis support centre as I had to give up my profession of nursing due to the fact that there is no child care available at 6am or 1030pm so I really have to thank all the abusive men out there for ensuring my full time position from 830 til 5. I take my lunch break at 3 to take the children to after school care and I provide nutritious healthy food for my children and love. There is a no chocolate, lollie or cordial policy in my home and my children enjoy fresh vegetables from the garden. The Chief Executive Officers of every family should be supported not denigrated. I have had women who are kept women whose most strenuous chore is deciding what colour to paint their nails at their next manicure ask me how much time I spend with my children seeing I work full time. I am there when they wake up, I physically drive them and walk them into the school gate and to their classroom every morning, I pick them up from school each day and take them to afterschool care and I pick them up from daycare and spend the entire evening with them and I tuck them in to bed at night. Single mums do a days work before 8am each weekday. I have four lunches to make, four children to be ready by 8am teeth brushed, house tidied and washing hung out. I am awake at 4:30am every weekday to ensure all neccessary chores are done and the children are ready. They have a healthy breakfast every morning and healthy lunch and dinner. Their father while meant to have contact has not seen his children in nearly 2 months. so on fathers day I want to congratulate all the single mums out there who are dad and mum. I mow the lawn and I take care of the children and household. I am a prettty bloody amazing woman just like all the pretty bloody amazing women of Australia who are single mums. I tandem fed my twin boys for 2 years and 8 months. I used to rock the twins in their rockers at alternating feet simultaneously while doing the ironing. That is the epitomy of what single motherhood is like for all single mums. To all single mums out there buy yourself some flowers each week and tell yourself you are an amazing woman because you are.
Linda on 15 Aug 2007 at 8:29 pm #
I wish to comment on chris’s statement denigrating the mother of his child due to her being Filipino. The Filipino women of Australia are a gentle and sensitive by their very culture and are very commonly brought into Australia on the premise of a better life with an occa aussie male who very quickly becomes these particular type of males slaves and are often the victims of domestic violence and are unable to even apply for any Centrelink benefits because they are not Australian. The laws now are that you have to be a permanent resident legally of Australia before you can apply for citizenship. Not all men are like Chris and to all the gorgeous and respectful aussie blokes out there who are genuine decent fathers please disregard the comments I am making as I am not speaking about the genuine males only the males who see women as dumb and not worthy of respect. It is not the males that is the problem it is their underlying ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS of POWER AND CONTROL. For any male to not want to be a part of his own child’s life while extremely sad might be a blessing to the future generation to not continue the abusive traits of their fathers. Where is the public backlash for all these types of males who shirk their responsibility and cry in their beer over paying child support?
Linda on 15 Aug 2007 at 8:31 pm #
To my posting on citizenship I meant to say that it used to be 2 years before you could be an Australian citizen it is now 4 years.
Steve York on 22 Aug 2007 at 1:41 pm #
Mate, you can only do what you can do. If you are not comfortable going for the ideal choice in a situation, just keep lowering your standards until you are comfortable with making your best efforts at the time. At least you’re aware of what you could be doing to improve the world with your decisions about the clothes you wear. When you are graduated and your finances allow it you might be able to afford the ideal options but for now no one can ask you for more than your best efforts.
ang on 30 Aug 2007 at 7:06 pm #
yes, thank god for mothers where would we be without them. i am a single 24 yr old mother and have 2 beautiful little girls that are 11 months apart in age. my ex is pretty good in wanting to help me out financally with payments. not all man are uncaring. i guess the biggest and hardest job is raising children and them not having both mum and dad around. i believe its important to have both mum and dad whilst growning up unless the environment is not healthy. to begin with my x was just a fuck buddy and i happened to fall pregnant and we decided to give it a go for the sake of our child and we took responsibility for our actions. unfortunatly after our second child things between us went down hill. what im trying to say is men and women together take resposibility for your actions cause your actios have a life time of concequences. and children are a blessing and as far as im concerned you dont stop being a parent till the day you die.being a single mother is tiring and yes we dont get enough reconition for our hard work. but dont let that bring you down. children are the most valuble investment and at the end of the day if you love care and look after your babies they will return the favour and look after you. children grow so fast, time flys. if you are a struggling single mum i feel your pain but just remember it wont last for ever and stay positive and surround yourself with other single mothers and help eachother through these tough times. dont worry about those drop kick fathers that wont live up to responsibility. they’l get whats comin for them in one way or another. yours forever love to all those single mothers stuggling out there…. i love you… we love you… where would we be without you??? GOD BLESS YOU
Chris on 02 Sep 2007 at 3:41 am #
Having sex is one thing we all enjoy, being forced into fatherhood by deception is an irresponsible action carried out by many women! In my opinion if a women uses deception to fall pregnant to an unwitting father he has moral ground to use deception to reduce child support. Remembering child support is calculated on GROSS income. People do not live on gross income! And as far as I am aware second family children are calculated on a much lower flat rate value! WHY? Many men quit high paying jobs! my friend after earning approx $60,000/year and paying support on 3 children to 2 ex wives was approx $50 per week better off than social security!! He asked me why bother working full time plus weekend callouts for such little extra? SIMPLE HE QUIT!
Chris on 02 Sep 2007 at 3:52 am #
Linda before you fit my casual ex girlfriend into the battered wive’s catagory she wasn’t ill treated! Was an australian citizen for 16 years and deliberately called my managers in the middle of the night to succesfully make me lose my job before she realised she was pregnant simply because I left her! Then she lied in sworn statements to the court saying she was defacto with me! Her lies cost me $23,000 in legal fees and she was allowed by the court to walk away! When I sent her false statements to the social security offices she had to explain why she claimed sole parents pension for 2 years at another address when she states she was defacto. So now she has 4 children to 3 fathers is 45 years old and has a nice lifestyle chosen to be on social security her whole life! She has $450,000 home she owes $160,000 on near the beach and has never worked in the last 18 years she lived in australia.
Chris on 04 Sep 2007 at 4:24 am #
Linda maybe you should talk to a lady friend of yours who maybe the partner of a paying parent? 32% of GROSS income for 3 kids? wonder what the real percentage is after tax?
I have seen many women change their opinion regarding CSA payment amounts when it comes out of their own partner’s pocket!
You calculate your income based on CSA guidelines and check for yourself? remember the second family kids are calculated at a fixed figure consideration much less than the first family? fair to you?
So the first family with one child could recieve the maximum of $13,200/year and your second family child is considered at costing $3,500/year!
So your relationship to a man paying support would not be affected you think?
Knowing your child is deserving a quarter of his past relationship child?
Put yourself in the shoes of the second wife for a while.
Chris on 05 Sep 2007 at 4:15 am #
I have just found out the CSA maximum per child bill is $2,000 per month!
Now assuming this is 50% of the child raising cost as the mother provides the other half (HAHA) then the CSA is making the assumption the child cost $4,000 a month to raise!
I am wondering how fair a child support system is the puts the cost of raising a child at $1,000 per week!
So ladies go find your monied man and forget the pill.
Then refuse abortion if he request’s it and your set for 18 years.
Beats study and work!
And before you ladies sprout off about how hard it is to raise your babies remember teenagers can do it and so can the rest of the animal world!
There is nothing special about raising children! most people can do it!
(Yes I have raised a few)
Chris on 07 Sep 2007 at 11:33 pm #
To those that say if you don’t want to be a father keep your dick in your pants,
If you don’t want a car accident don’t drive a car!
If you don’t want to catch a cold don’t talk to people with a cold!
If you want a man to be responsible for a baby then get his permission to take on that responsibility!
Otherwise don’t complain when a duped father refuses responsibilty!
As feminist’s say It’s your body your choice and your responosibility alone if you make that choice without the mans approval.
So stop whining about men that refuse to accept responsibility for a choice they didn’t make and accept the fact you should have considered more carefully before you descide to get pregnant.
Stephen on 13 Sep 2007 at 4:39 pm #
Hey Chris (and others). It would appear that this conversation is straying from the core issue which is the fact that generally the legislation discriminates against the majority of single mums doing it tough.
There are exceptions to every rule, however this site is not a place to vent the specifics of each individual exception.
It is very unfair of you to go into so much detail about someone who does not have the opportunity to defend herself.
This is not an invitation for her to come and do so either.
If you have specific issues that go beyond the spirit of this post, I’d ask that you take it up in another forum.
If you feel hard done by regarding this response, let me know.
With that in mind, I’d ask that any further posts abide by the intent of this blog.
I will state is again for the record: ...*generally* the legislation discriminates against the majority of single mums doing it tough in this country.
kelly on 07 Nov 2007 at 8:43 am #
Hi Chris,
Have you ever heard of vastectomy. If you do not want children I suggest you get one. If you do not want a vastectomy because you want children at a later date, – wear a condom! Not too difficult. Every time you lay down with a woman, you both run the risk of a pregnancy. Both! It takes two. You sound like the typical – “woe is me” man, who passes the buck onto someone else, and cannot take responsibility for your actions. Stop whinging, that you got duped. The only real victim here is the result of your orgasm. Stop thinking about yourself, and be a real man.
Single mother hood aint no joke.