The Maid - Boyfriending @ Geylang (2)

The suggestion of granting domestic helpers a rest day every week has literally made many employers jumped.

Singapore was among 63 voters which abstained from voting on the new International Labour Organisation convention in Geneva from granting domestic workers greater protection from exploitation.

Yet Madam Halimah Yacob, the Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports said Singapore should consider legislation that makes employers give their domestic helpers a weekly rest day.

She said giving maids their weekly offdays might help to minimise stress and overwork issues.
They are just like other workers who need to rest, should not be made to work excessive hours that could affect their health and well-being.

Madam Halimah expressed hope that Singapore would 'take stock of its laws and policies and progressively make changes' to be in line with the convention since the country takes its international obligations seriously.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in the meantime, is reviewing the call for the government to implement a weekly rest day as MOM recognises the benefits of rest days to the well-being and productivity of foreign domestic maids.
It will consult with various stakeholders including employers, employment agencies and non-governmental organisations.
Members of the public are advised to email their views and suggestions to mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg.

MOM would continue to review the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers, and would sign the new treaty when it was sure it could implement it here.

******

Should the suggestion turn into law?
Then it becomes one size law fits all employers' policies.

Imagine getting paid at least six times higher than back home...
Free lodging, amenities, food, toiletries ...
Free weekends...
Free compulsory six-monthly medical check up...
Free return home with air ticket paid for...

Can't imagine what's the next best thing in life beside free...

******

Although it cannot be denied that some of these maids were abused and some tend to overwork, but not all of them are squeezed dry of their energy.

While their government impose all kinds of rule for their 'daughters' welfare working abroad, but bear in mind, we also travel to their country, went to their households to see first hand, how their 'daughters' in their own country are usually the lesser mortal.

******

Those with domestic helpers in their house, should know why.
Those with helpers for many years, know it best.

Although some Indonesian house-helpers have no off day, their nationality are all over the island.
They will often meet and get together with other domestic workers while sending and fetching their employers' children to schools.

I had once came across newspaper article, reminding these domestic helpers, not to take up the whole area of available spot at mosques while waiting for their employers' kids in kindergartens.
That shows their big presence.

Once, a six-year old came up to Me, saying he was absent from class the day before, because his father suddenly wanted to return home.
Upon opening the front door, the maid was asked to put on her clothing in her room, while the Bangladeshi man, who was then doing the painting job at his block, remained at the hall.
The boy claimed he could see the Bangladeshi's legs...

******

My friend had a hard time telling her maid not to feed her baby, of all place, at the bus-stop.
My friend was not too sure what the maid was up to, but given her friendly nature...

Some employers always want to be different from the rest.
They often feel sorry for their maids' living condition back home.
Thus they wanted to provide the best for their employees.

But it is not few employers that their trust were betrayed, their sympathy exploited.
Especially when these maids are provided with handphones, and they are unable to self control of using and abusing it.
The phone is a great distraction.
And even without off days, these maids can still managed to get boyfriends.

******

A brother had no other choice except to get a helper when his wife met an accident.
The helper's main duty was to look after their six children, especially the youngest, who was less than two years old then.

The helper, married with children, claimed did no know how to cook despite being married with children in Indonesia, and in her late 30s.
The brother cooked whatever he could for his family.

But there was once, when he was in a hurry to go to work, that he just put aside the ingredients for the helper to fry rice.
He did not believe his wife when told that the garlic and onion used was not peeled off the skin...

Luckily he believed his own eyes and ears when at his in-laws' place, the maid went downstairs to make a phone call to his wife's younger brother, wanting to know the young man better...

******

Suri* was given the choice of enjoying her once a month off day outside home, or be paid to stay home during her off day.
She chose the latter.

But in the end, she get to go out every weekends for the whole day attending classes in Orchard Road.
Every Ramadhan, she went to the mosque alone nightly for her terawih.

She had travelled to many states in Malaysia.
She had been to Batam, China and Thailand.
And, she is one of the 88% Indonesian domestic helpers who do not enjoy their off days.

Who cares?
She did not care.
She could not be bothered too.

Not all employers are without sympathy.
And employers who trust their maids, they can make a wise decision concerning off days.

But to make compulsory and lawful weekend offdays, the government is waging more social ills in our already colourful society.

******

A survey by non-governmental organisations here has found that few Indonesian maids get days off, with only 38 per cent having at least one day off a month. This is in contrast to 85 per cent of Filipino maids getting at least one day off a month. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF MUNIFAH

Those employers who had experience enough nonsense brought by their one after another problematic maids would definitely choose to OFF the OFF day.
The risk is simply too high.

Most employers treat their maids well.
Despite that, give these workers an inch, they expect a foot.
Before long, they jolly well demand a yard.

******

An acquaintance's Indonesian maid was given once a month off day, just like her friends from her home village.

But there was once, she was requested not to take or to postpone her off day, as it was the first day of Hari Raya. 
Better for her celebrating the festival with the family and usually, she will receive packets of monies from relatives.

But the maid, in her 30s, with children back home, insisted as she had planned a picnic at Sentosa.
If all her friends can have their off day, why not her?

But all her friends were working for Chinese families.

After all, it was not appropriate to celebrated the first day of Hari Raya at the beach.

******

Imagine...
A just arrived maid is given her off day in her first week.
She goes out looking for friends...

Big groups of migrant workers, men and women gathering at shopping centres on weekends, the government must really think of the social impact and its consequences. 

Just walk down Peninsula Plaza in North Bridge Road, a favourite spot for Myanmar, Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road for Filipinos, the Little Thailand Golden Mile Complex at Beach Road, Katong Shopping Centre at Mountbatten Road for Chinese national and City Plaza at Geylang. 

All these foreign workers just know where is the next best spot to spend in Singapore beside working place.

******

I was once asked by a Batam friend to find her niece living in Lampung, on the southern tip of Sumatra that borders Bengkulu, who had worked in Singapore for four years. 
She called her mother staying in their village, informing her she worked in Bukit Merah. 

My Batam friend believed her niece was being abused and tortured as that was the only upon arrival call she ever made. 
She insisted since we are the best of friend, sure I will 'save' her niece by knocking at every doors at all the blocks of flats in Bukit Merah. 

To show her that indeed we are the best of friend, her persistent request led Me to bring her here to see things with her own eyes, as did not believe that Singapore law is always pro-maids rather than their employers.

Media reports on Indonesian maids are quick to report about abuse, violence and death.
So stories of these girls and women of not only meeting friends, but boyfriends, are but all sounds alien and great distant away from her.

Singaporean females to her, are all bossy, fierce lots and proud of themselves, including Myself.
We are just too proud being Singaporeans.
That's the reason to her, why there are many Singapore men buying terrace houses around her residence, staying with their young Indonesian wives.

Yes, I used to see households in her neighbourhood was usually void of men on weekdays.
Not only daytime, but nighttime too.
But come weekends, Singaporean husbands aplenty in her neighbourhood.

She even encouraged Me to get a house opposite hers, since we are the best of friend...

******

I fetched her from Batam to go to Bukit Merah on one Sunday last year.
We went to a playground.

She was taken for an initial shock seeing all maids with handphones gathering together while waiting for children at play.
A number of them were with fast texting fingers and some with ear pieces.

She went to them asking for her niece but nobody ever heard her name before.

She asked them if was possible for her to find her niece in one of the households.
One of them said, she must be out of her mind - Walking a block of flat is like walking around a whole village in Indonesia.
She was asked to count how many blocks were, just in front of her...

******

We then took a taxi to City Plaza, a hotspot for Indonesians, since about five years ago.
I requested the driver to drive slowly, and to make double turning around the shopping centre.

City Plaza was like a shopping centre in Jakarta to my friend.

These mostly domestic helpers, supposed to be simple-minded, many were all dolled-up, with make-up, and many were with revealing clothing with jewellery.
She realised, these Indonesians are not up to innocently nothing with their what she think of them, being simple- minded.

They were transformers.
They went all out for their elaborate physical transformation. 

Most sit on the steps or grass patches outside the mall to chat or having a picnic with their friends and male Bangladeshi construction workers.
She was told, male workers from Indonesia, Myanmar, and Sabah frequent the place too.

Their public behaviour awed my Batam friend and left her speechless.

She went up to few maids who were standing around in the nearby shopping place, Tanjong Katong Complex.
She asked them of their feelings after leaving families behind.
Many answered, although they missed them, but there was not much they can do.
They have to stay focus in their job, and own families back home could not swayed their minds.

Some preferred not to return home even after their three to seven years in Singapore.
Some even claimed families had faded in their memories.

Some sent home part of their salary, and a few she talked to, had broken their links.

******

We then walked pass Lion City Hotel.

I told my Batam friend, it was at the traffic light in front of the hotel that when I was waiting for the green man to cross the road, I saw an Indonesian woman crossing the road from Tanjong Katong Complex, outstretched her right hand to shake hand an old man directly in front of Me.

The man was shocked when the woman's left hand went behind his waist, holding him tight.
I stopped Myself from crossing the road, to see what she will do to the man.
He was then led to a bench in front of Lion City Hotel where the woman talked softly into his ears, and he kept nodding his head, with her left hand remained tightly behind the man's waist...

******

We then walked in front of the Haig Road Hawker Centre.

Although social divider with locals is strictly enforced by the law, forbidding foreign maids from marrying Singaporeans, we saw many old Malay men, chico pek men with Indonesians...  
These Indonesians did stand out, their facial features and dressing gave way from local residents.

Just too bad that Haig Road lies between Joo Chiat and Geylang.
Haig Road has been attracting seedy characters for quite some time.
Bad influence had crept in.
The housing estate has earned a reputation among foreigners too.

There is the open display of affection showing how bold these women can be.
Sometimes, residents can even catch occasional illicit, passionate moments in full view...

Just walk across behind it, Joo Chiat, many Indonesians were standing around the hotel wall although solicitors for prostitution can be fined up to S$1,000 or jailed up to six months.
They enticed local men and... youths.
Now, some refers it as ‘Little Batam’.

The nearby Joo Chiat Complex, especially the nearby eating place behind it, is a favorite spot for old, old local men and their young foreign partners.
I used to pass there, never fail to purposely staring at these old, old men with their odd partners.
These old, old men did not mind letting these as young as their daughters and granddaughters to sit on their lap...

******

The seeing is believing, been there, seen up close of not all maids in Singapore are facing what's printed in papers, led to many more trip of My Batam friend to Singapore.
And she kept exploring Geylang and its neighbourhood.

She knew now, being housemaids in Singapore is not about working 24/7.
She knew now, maids have had their own lifestyle to maintain. 

She get to know of married maids having relationship with Bangladeshi workers.
She get to know maids from her own country having affairs with multiple Singaporean partners who could support them, providing them cash, topping-up their phonecards...

******

Then, one day, My good Batam friend said she wanted to become a study mama.
She wanted her eldest daughter to study here.

I reminded her sternly, since we are the best friend, she is not allowed to appear at any of My Siblings' doors should one day, she truly become a study mama...

Yes, Singaporean females are all bossy, fierce lots and proud of themselves, including Myself.
We are just too proud being Singaporeans...

The best of friend indeed...

The Sleeping Malays In Mighty Singapore

Dr M Provokes Singapore Malays

Dr Mahathir said recently that the Malays in Singapore were marginalised and lagged behind the other communities. — File pic

SINGAPORE, Jan 20 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is at the centre of a storm after he stirred up the Malay community here with his comments on their position in the republic. Many readers of the Singapore Berita Harian resented the former Malaysian Prime Minister for saying that the Malays on the island were marginalised and lagged behind the other communities.
The paper has been publishing the response of readers to the comments that it published, and some of the letters expressed real anger.
One reader, Sallim Ahmad, said that it had become Dr Mahathir’s theme that “the Singapore Malays are being marginalised until the end of world.”
But the Malays here are progressing without subsidies and the position of Islam is protected although it is not the official religion, Sallim said.
Another reader, Kamariah Lim Li Hwa, hoped that Dr Mahathir would “investigate first our condition” before making any statement on the Singapore Malays.
“We the Malays of Singapore feel at ease and are grateful that the Singapore rulers execute our trust with transparency,” she said.
A letter from Eusope Musawa asserted that Singapore Malays lived in comfort and as equals with the other communities.
“Tun Dr Mahathir should advise Malaysian Malays to learn from Singapore Malays how to progress,” Eusope said.
Other readers were far less polite, using insulting phrases to refer to Dr Mahathir.
But one reader who called himself Walid Jumblatt Abdullah differed from them.
Walid said he was very happy to see Singapore Malays react with such alacrity to refute Dr Mahathir.
“How wonderful it would be if the Malay community (in Singapore) were to react with similar speed to handle such problems as dysfunctional families, moral decay and academic performance that is unsatisfactory and below that of the other races,” he said.
He said that Dr Mahathir had his weaknesses but the former Malaysian Prime Minister, whom some readers called “a senile old man”, had turned Malaysia into one of the Asian economic tigers.
He is the only Malay leader known throughout the world and is highly respected in the Islamic world, not least for his championing of such causes as Palestine, Bosnia and Somalia, Walid said.
Walid said that four non-governmental organisations, two of them Christian groups, nominated Dr Mahathir for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“As far as I know, he is the first Malay leader to be nominated for the prize,” Walid said. — Bernama

Source: Malaysian Insider - January 20, 2011
 

******

Ridhuan Tee: Singapore’s Might Will ‘Eat’ Us Up

By Shannon Teoh

Lee said Singapore needed a strong defence to be able to stand up to its neighbours. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Singapore will “eat” Malaysia if the government does not prepare its military defence to face the “Jewish protégés”, Utusan Malaysia columnist Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah claimed today. In his column today, he suggested that Singapore would use its military might to create a “second or third Singapore,” while pointing to the Pakatan Rakyat-led Penang state government as potential contenders.
“The time of good faith and playing with them is over. Now is the time to work to face up to them. If they can prepare RM35.5 billion for defence in that small country, surely we must spend more than that. If not, we will be ‘eaten’ one day, believe me,” the senior lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia wrote.
He called on the government to take the best steps to face “the little Jews before the rice becomes porridge,” using the Malay proverb that means something regrettable that cannot be undone.
“The enemy is watching us. They are waiting for the chance to ‘enter’ at the right time.
“At that time, it will be too late to fight back. Can weapons made of stone match fighter jets and tanks as what is happening in Palestine? Allah wants us to learn from these events of the past.
“We need to remember, the leaders of Penang are always going there to look for ideas. Will there be a second or third Singapore, or more?” he said.
Tee was referring to a Singapore Sunday Times interview with the island republic’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who said that without a strong armed forces, it would be vulnerable to pressure from Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Without a strong defence, there will be no Singapore,” Lee said in the interview. “It will become a satellite, cowed and intimidated by its neighbours.”
“If we do not have this strong SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), we are vulnerable to all kinds of pressures from both Malaysia and Indonesia,” he said.
“We are not vulnerable? They can besiege you. You’ll be dead,” Lee said.
“If we are not vulnerable, why do we spend 5 to 6 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) year after year on defence,” he continued. “Are we mad? This is a frugal government.”
Although Tee acknowledged that this was true from a strategic and security standpoint, he said that the statement was “arrogant” as “without the help of Malaysia, Singapore would not exist.”
Tee pointed out that Singapore was once a Malay island and if Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had arrested Lee, who later became Singapore’s first prime minister, and ordered a curfew before the two countries parted ways in 1965, the island would still belong to Malaysia.
He claimed that if our leaders then were not Muslims, or were communists instead, “Kuan Yew would have long ago been thrown into prison.”
Tee said that “we should have been as cruel as Kuan Yew, who throws those who oppose him into prison because he says they disturb the peace and planning of Singapore.”
In his column, he wrote that “in just over five years, Singapore spends what we have spent in the last 23 years” on defence, or RM180 billion.
This is despite Malaysia’s defence budget rising by more than five times from RM2.09 billion in 1987 to RM11.01 billion last year, making up for six per cent of the total government budget, said Tee.
“This amount is still small compared to our neighbour that is the actual threat to us. Are we not afraid of this new threat? Was losing Pulau Batu Putih not a lesson to us?” he wrote, referring to the dispute over Pedra Branca between Malaysia and Singapore.
He said that he was certain that the island would still belong to Malaysia had our military been able to defeat Singapore’s.
“Unfortunately, we continue to act in good faith and give ‘free service’ such as water to that ‘evil’ nation. Have they ever remembered our good deeds?” he asked.
He said that Malaysia was now afraid of “a small nation that depends on us for water. They win even that. We still appear to have lost, even though it belongs to us.”
Tee suggested that all our profits from oil and gas be used to develop our defences, claiming that if the RM50 billion of profits from national petroleum company Petronas were used for defence spending, “I am certain that in five years, Malaysia will emerge as a great nation in Asia and maybe globally.”

Source: The Malaysian Insider - January 20, 2011

Fashion Statement Of A Different Kind

"Nothing too revealing" - outlaw everything from miniskirts to low-cut jeans when people walk around, is the  new dress code policy  a mayor at the seaside city in Italy wants to enforce.

In an effort to "restore urban decorum and facilitate better civil co-existence", Mayor Luigi Bobbio is planning to ban miniskirts and other revealing clothing to improve what the mayor calls standards of public decency to crack down anti-social behaviour. 

He wants to target people who are "rowdy, unruly or simply badly behaved". 

In the effort to fight crime and confront anti social behaviour, there will also be a ban on sunbathing, playing football in public places, and blasphemy. 

If the proposals are approved at a council , then it's the right decision made.
It's also a way of combating the rise in sexual harassment.

In other places they have banned sandcastles, kissing in cars, feeding stray cats, wooden clogs and the use of lawn mowers at weekends.
Offending the regulations would face fines of between €25 (US$35) and €500 (US$696).

******

The 35-year-old man, Cheng Guorong, originally from Ningbao, Zhejiang province, has gone from vagrant to model.
Since the first picture of this vagrant homeless guy who had been roaming the streets of Ningbo was posted in the Internet, he had been the most searched-for-figure in early March. 
He gained a following and was elevated to the celebrity status.  

He shot to fame after an amateur photographer snapped a photo of him while testing a camera in a shop and uploaded it on the Chinese Internet site.  
Mr Cheng's life changed dramatically after the posted pictures of him. 
He had a  distinctive dress style which had him noticed. With a scraggly beard and long tousled hair, he used bright scraps of fabric as a belt and wore a grubby sheepskin-lined overcoat over a faux leather jacket.

Though he looked scruffy, his hair was carefully disarrayed and he was seen in a well- coordinated overcoat on top of a leather jacket. Soon, netizens began nicknaming him XiLi Ge (or Brother Sharp).  
The homeless guy has been hailed as "the best-looking beggar ever" by adoring netizens. 
As his fan club spread worldwide, he was given more endearing nicknames such as the Handsome Beggar, Beggar Prince and Handsome Vagabond. 
 
Cheng, whom witness had seen him laughing to himself, at times, was seen clad in female attires, suffered from minor mental problems. 
He had lost contact with his family after he arrived in Ningbo in 1996 in search of better prospects, looking for work. 
He was initially successful and was able to send money home to his wife and two sons. 

After being robbed of his savings, he was fired from a succession of jobs until he found himself on the streets. Filled with shame at not being able to provide for his children, he did not call home for years. 
Since then, he began roaming the streets and led a wandering life. He spent his days scouring the streets  for food and rummaging through rubbish for discarded plastic bottles and cigarette butts.



Several photographs of the 34-year-old were uploaded to the Internet and the community of netizens was intrigued by the appearance of the man, who was likened to models and good-looking actors.  
His style is one that's on fashion catwalks. Netizens have gushed over his look and compared the way he dressed to the bohemian style modeled by fashion icons and celebrities. His unfocused gaze described as "deep and penetrating". 
His prominent cheekbones and bohemian clothes quickly won him a legion of fans who called him ''China's sexiest tramp''. 


It did not take long for his photographs went viral on the Internet, where sympathetic fans teamed together and have donated more than 100,000 yuan (S$20,000) to help him getting his life back on track.
His rising popularity soon drew the attention of the Chinese mainstream media.
The local authority was alerted and when they found Guorong on the streets, the helpless man burst into tears under the glaring spotlight of the media, who swarmed around him as soon as he was found. 

After his story was widely reported in China, he was later admitted to Ningbo Mental Hospital. 
With the help of the local media and efforts of the local authority, Cheng Guorong met his mother and younger brother Guosheng for the first time in more than 10 years at the hospital. 
The family last heard from him in 2003. 

They had been trying for years to locate Guorong and at one point, even went to Ningbo. 
Attempts to locate him failed and efforts were in vain. His family believed he was dead until they saw his picture on the Internet in January. 

He had became one of the most talked-about personalities on the Internet.

When Guorong returned to his village in Poyang, Shangrao, he was given celebrity treatment, as villagers surrounded him and even set off firecrackers to welcome him.
 He returned home in March to find that his father and his wife had been killed in a car accident last year in June. The trauma of his five years on the streets has left him withdrawn and shy.

******

Public offers had since poured in for him to appear in advertisements and he did a stint as a catwalk model.
This 35-year old man is recognised for his great fashion sense and has been offered a 3,000 yuan (S$600) a month job as the Fashion Show manager in Shunde near Guangzhou - a far cry from his days as a vagrant where he was seen walking aimlessly in tattered but well-coordinated clothes with a cigarette in hand. 

“I am just a normal pathetic person. It was the Internet that rescued me from the streets and I am grateful to the netizens who had lent their helping hand.
“I do not know anything about fashion and don’t understand why people said I am fashionable,” he said.




Now the story of Cheng Guoron's life will be made into a film.

''It will be a sad story, but at the end there will be the happiness of a family reunion.''

 

Paul And Germany

"Argentina lost." My Son said as I appeared from the kitchen. 

I had told him what I had read in The Straits Times.
He just laughed it off and it proves him right. 

Anyway, just out of curiousity, I had share it  here,  just for the fun of it.
Argentina's 4-0 thrashing by Germany is nearing to almost unpredictable score. 

Human being, not being accurate.
How about animal this time around?

Paul The German Octopus is born in England but now has a home at Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany.
These Sea Life Aquarium people, out of curiousity, idea was sparked into their heads.
They let Paul predicts all of Germany’s matches in the 2010 World Cup.
Zzzasss...
Paul's prediction in all of Germany’s 5 games in the World Cup so far, all sooo right.

He backed the Germans for victories against Australia, Ghana, England and, Argentina.
But he favoured the Serbians over his adopted home country, another accurately predicted result.
Paul predicts the games by eating a mussel out of one of the two containers that his caretakers sent down into  his tank.
One of the container has the German flag.
The other, the flag of the opposing team and...
He cleverly eats from the winner's box - That’s how the fortune teller tells - By eating out from the lucky container.

Paul The German Octopus instantly becomes a celebrity.
It received lots of worldwide media attention.
With the correct prediction of another Germany win, people start to wonder if octopus really has the supernatural power to predict as Paul's 5 predictions are all right.

It will be even more interesting for the semi final.

Predicting Germany over Argentina. Source: Internet

*******

Alas, like the players and all those who are part of the World Cup crowd, everybody has to go home. 

So is Paul The Octopus. 

BERLIN - AN OCTOPUS in Germany who has shot to fame by correctly predicting the outcome of the country's World Cup matches should be set free, an animal rights group said on Friday.


'Paul has forecast that Germany will beat Argentina. In order that Paul too can celebrate on Saturday, and not just football fans, PETA Germany ... is now asking for him to be set free,' PETA said in a statement.


The organisation called for the seawater soccer soothsayer, currently in Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany, to be released into a national park in waters off the south of France where fishing is banned.


'Paul is stuck in a small aquarium ... We think that Paul would be fine in the sea,' marine biologist Tanja Breining from PETA said. 

'Octopuses are among the most intelligent of invertebrates. They are capable of complex thought processes, have short and long-term memories, use tools, learn through observation, have different personalities and are particularly sensitive to pain,' the organisation said.


Sea Life, however, said it would be a bad idea.
'Animals born in captivity are used to being fed and have no experience finding food by themselves,' a spokeswoman told AFP.

'It is highly likely that he would die.'

Creating Lifestyles From Sacrificing Others

A China Daily reporter who has gone undercover at Foxconn found that the employees appeared numb.

At a recruitment drive, the reporter was ordered to stand straight under the blazing sun for hours with endless rows of people who lined up for an interview.

Aside from a way of production that reduces its staff to an absolute decimal point, the company had fostered a culture where its staff are trained to shiver in conformity, he observed, while working as a manufacturing worker.

Foxconn staff working on a circuit board at its plant in Longhua, Guangdong province (Photo: China Daily)

"I have been led to believe this corporate culture was a direct cause of the recent tragedies. "The corporate culture has numbed them to an extent where any organisation and collective struggle are deemed not only undesirable but also backward,'' he wrote.
"For workers on the production line at Foxconn and beyond, killing themselves means no more than to prove to the world their belittled existence and reaffirm to fellow comrades that there is no escape."

Another Undercover Team Reveals The Working Conditions 

Between 300,000 and 400,000 employees eat, work and sleep at Foxconn's plant, in Longhua Town, which some have labelled the IT Forbidden City due to its water-tight security. Photo: Reuters

THEY work, some on their feet throughout, up to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, assembling products that most cannot afford to buy themselves: Apple iPhones, iPads, Dell computers and Nokia mobile phones. 

They are not allowed to talk while working and could be fined for doing so. These are some of the conditions workers at Foxconn have to endure, according to an undercover team of 7 Chinese who infiltrated the Longhua plant in southern China's Shenzhen boomtown 2 weeks ago. 

The Telegraph reported. 'Hundreds of people work in the workshops, but they are not allowed to talk to one another. If you talk, you get a black mark in your record and you get shouted at by your manager. You can also be fined,' investigator Zhu Guangbing, who organised the undercover operation, told London's The Telegraph. His team included netizen volunteers and 4 Foxconn workers. 

Between 300,000 and 400,000 employees eat, work and sleep at Foxconn's plant, in Longhua Town, which some have labelled the IT Forbidden City due to its water-tight security. 'In the past 3 months, the factory has been losing 50,000 staff a month because workers are burning out,' Mr Zhu, a migrant worker and a workplace rights advocate, said. 'The workers are reduced to repeating exactly the same hand movement for months on end.' 

***In June 2006, Foxconn petitioned Shenzhen's intermediate court to freeze the assets of a reporter and editor at First Financial Daily in Shanghai after suing the pair for 30 million yuan (S$6m) for defamation. It withdrew the lawsuit 3 months later. 

******

For explanation of the above, a 21-year-old assembly-line worker says conditions at Foxconn makes his life seem meaningless. Conversation on the production line is forbidden, bathroom breaks are kept to 10 minutes every 2 hours, and workers get yelled at frequently.

"I know why all those people jumped (from the building)," said Lin Fengxiang, a 23-year-old villager from Maoming, Guangdong, as he walked into his allocated dorm. "In here, nobody gives a damn about you. Too bad I've already got one foot on this boat. It's hard to get off now." Like many his age, Lin is trying to pay off his family's debt by working here. He paid more than 400 yuan (S$80) to get in and has been assigned to Foxconn's Wireless Business Group (WLBG) to assemble cell phones. 

During training sessions, recruits are reminded they must politely refuse all interview requests from journalists and then report to their superiors. "Whatever (you think) you should say or shouldn't say, just don't say it." He was reminded. His instructor, a former armed police officer Li Mengqiang, who said has trained more than 30,000 workers, constantly reminded not to challenge his authority unless they dared to "go against all security officers in the company's compound. He had been told by a manager to punish any recruit he saw sleeping or chatting during the training.

"This is their territory. We can only try to survive," said trainee Li Cheng as he tried to comfort a fellow new arrival during lecture, which ended with the audience being made to recite Foxconn's corporate values. The company's mantra, "love" and "integration" are among the most important of their values.

"Labouring for others isn't what I want to do," said Lin Fengxiang, one of Foxconn's new recruits. "I don't want to be rich; I just want to live the life I want. But it must be fated." 

Xiao Qi, a college graduate who works at Foxconn in product development earns more than twice as much as a line worker, at 2,000 yuan (S$400) a month but he is contemplating suicide as he has no future - He does the same thing every day, day in and day out.

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No one disputes that Taipei-based Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai, has cultivated a tough culture. But Terry Gou, the billionaire chairman of Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai, when answering to questions of suicides, he has no idea why so many of his employees are killing 

Quoted: "From a logical, scientific standpoint, I don't have a grasp on that," The billionaire told reporters on May 27 at a press conference at the company's vast production facility in Shenzhen, China. "No matter how you force me, I don't know."

The company is confident that it will be able to stabilize the situation soon as workers will be getting a 30% raise although the additional money may not be enough to prevent further tragedies.

Starting June, the basic salary for assembly line workers has been raised from 900 yuan (S$180) to 1,200 yuan (S$240) per month and other staff and foremen earning higher than 900 yuan (S$180) will also be boosted by at least 30%. The pay rise was attributed to rising living costs and corporate performance.

It is with hope that the new pay would help employees increase incomes while reducing overtime and have enough time for leisure activities.The pay rise came after 10 workers killed themselves and 3 attempted suicide at the company's Shenzhen plant this year. 
Raising salaries will impact on Hon Hai's costs, pressuring their ability to make a profit. However, that it was also a way to impress foreign investors. The higher wage increase is to reflect rising prices in the mainland, and also hoped to earn the respect of workers and raise efficiency.

The company has faced mounting public anger and questions from its major clients. It will be a test of the long-term relationships with big brands like Apple and Dell.
Shares fell 2% as it moved to quell a storm of bad publicity over the deaths.

The Taiwanese-owned manufacturer defended its labour practices.
Earlier on, Wang Tongxin, vice-chairman of the Shenzhen Federation of Trade Unions, in April urged Foxconn to adopt a more humane style of management. 9 sociologists in Beijing also wrote an open letter to the media that called for Foxconn and other companies to halt what they call "a model where fundamental human dignity is sacrificed for development".
After a spate of apparent suicides among its workers, it was disclosed the latest 2 deaths of Foxconn workers had plunged the company into crisis.
11 days ago there were 2 more fatalities and Foxconn says it has prevented around 20 others from killing themselves since the suicides began.
The family of those who committed suicide will each receive 110,000 yuan (S$22,000) in compensation, the Shenzhen authorities said.

After a suicide earlier this month, Foxconn said its workers enjoyed world-class treatment.
Company spokesman stated that Foxconn carried out social responsibility programs to ensure the welfare of its employees.
Following the recent tragedies, the company's managers have repeatedly cited the fact that they offer free meals and dormitories and free washing services for dorm tenants.
They have installed swimming pools and reading rooms, as evidence of Foxconn's positive treatment towards staff.
It has set up 2 mental aid lines in recent months and plans to recruit psychological counsellors.
It is hoped that with the bringing in of 2,000 choreographers, singers and gym coaches, it will help relieve workers' pressure. 

The high reported toll may be due to much public interest in Foxconn, and a larger flow of information from workers with mobile phones and Internet access, as to a rise in suicide rates at the firm, said a Shenzhen-based expert in labour issues.

The Shenzhen factory is a popular place to work, with hordes of applicants lining up for jobs during the hiring season.

Workers at the huge Foxconn plant in Shenzhen eat, live and sleep on the site. Top: New recruits wait to pass the preliminary health check; center: The compound has 20 canteens and churns out 10 tons of rice daily; bottom: A view of one of the company's dormitory buildings. Provided for China Daily - Xinhua

Foxconn insisted that workers are treated well and are protected by social responsibility programs that ensure their welfare.
Other factories also have similar problems but the problem is that Foxconn is the most well-known. In some isolated companies, it will never be made public of what has happened.

But analysts warned that reports of deaths at the firm, already a target of criticism by labour groups over its working conditions, could make its overseas clients uncomfortable. Nobody wants to buy a product that is associated with a facility at which people kill themselves.
Being a public relations problem, the company has to handle it appropriately although the deaths have also been seen as more of a social issue.

The company will do all to save lives although some of the suicides may have been linked to personal problems. It is taking other steps to get the situation under control. 
It has installed netting around outdoor stairwells of dormitory buildings to prevent people from jumping.
Foxconn has set up a hotline that employees can call to receive care and has also hired employee counsellors. Recent counselling sessions for employees also found most employees do not even know their roommates' names, said deputy chairman of the Foxconn workers' union.
They have gone so far as to invite monks to the plant to rid the company of an evil spell.

However, the company has refused to respond to comments by observers about its organisation and management practices, of media reports of employees work long hours of overtime and under a great deal of stress, that the work is monotonous and repetitive and that superiors are nasty toward them.
This psychological pressure on employees, which has come under increased scrutiny, is an occupational health hazard that results from a style of business management and an operations system that were created in the face of globalised competition

Meanwhile, work goes on in Shenzhen. Foxconn's facility which is 3 square kilometers (1.16 square miles) and is crisscrossed by tree-lined streets with a fountain at the center. There's a hospital and a collection of restaurants.
Workers live in dormitories, 8 to 10 people to a room. The company provides worker counselling as many of the young people who work there are first-timers who've been away from home. Without their families, they will left with no direction. The company try to provide them with direction and help.

Chinese psychologists have said that suicide rates among Foxconn employees are not especially high when compared with suicide rates in China as a whole.
This, however, ignores the fact that people who can work are healthier than the general population.
It is incorrect to calculate suicide rates while making the assumption that those who do not commit suicide are all healthy. Suicide is only one possible outcome of prolonged mental health problems. The bigger picture of occupational health involves other psychological threats, such as thinking about committing suicide, depression and anxiety.

The only way to judge whether suicides at Foxconn are high, therefore, is to compare suicide rates there with suicide rates in other industries.

*** Low-Cost Manufacturing Worldwide Companies Demand Are Partly Being Paid By These Human Lives Of Foxconn's Workers Suicides.