Industrial disease

Suicides among industrial workers in China are occurring at an alarming rate.

In particular, a plant in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen operated by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Group (which manufactures consumer electronics such as iPhones and iPads) has just recorded its ninth suicide this year.

Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou offered the following “as he bowed at a press conference”:

“I offer my sincerest apologies to society, the entire public, all our employees and their families because we had no way of preventing these things from happening. Will it happen again? From a logical, scientific standpoint, I don’t have a grasp on that.”

Apart from improving general working conditions, one wonders have they considered maybe an immediate 15% pay rise might help perk everybody up a bit?