Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.
A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames.
To me, this is just the 21st century equivalent of workers rising at 4am to spend 12 hours a day working in a coal mine, then having to spend half their paycheck at the company store. The only reason people put up with something like this is so that their kids won't have to. Within one generation, China's workforce is going to realize that living in a company dormitory and working 12 hours for biscuits and tea is some serious bullshit, and they're not going to put up with it.
Here's the money quote:
To me, this is just the 21st century equivalent of workers rising at 4am to spend 12 hours a day working in a coal mine, then having to spend half their paycheck at the company store. The only reason people put up with something like this is so that their kids won't have to. Within one generation, China's workforce is going to realize that living in a company dormitory and working 12 hours for biscuits and tea is some serious bullshit, and they're not going to put up with it.