By Kevin McCauley
Burson-Marsteller is counseling Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group as the publicity-shy company seeks to rebound from a spate of employee suicides.
Motivational rallies are the tool that the maker of Apple iPhones and iPads, Sony game consoles and Dell computers is using to bolster employee morale after a dozen workers killed themselves at Foxconn facilities this year.
Image from Foxconn website |
The sessions are called "Treasure Your Life, Love Your Family. Care for Each Other to Build a Wonderful Future." According to the emailed rally invite, Foxconn conducted the rallies at its Chinese factories because "it's perhaps time to look back and to learn from the tragedies and to send an important message to their employee that they are not alone."
Foxconn installed safety nets at its factories and worker dormitories as a measure to catch would-be jumpers. The last successful jumper suicide was a 22-year-old woman who took the plunge on Aug. 4. Suicide victims are migrant workers far from their home base.
Bloomberg reports today that safety nets have been removed from some plants in northern China where most of the workers are locals and enjoy family support.
The world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics has boosted worker wages and hired counselors/monks to counsel troubled workers among its 800K factory force. Foxconn plans to hire an additional 300K people.
The company denies charges by China Labor Watch that it runs "sweatshops." To increase scrutiny of its workplaces, Foxconn has opened its biggest plant to the media.
Foxconn chairman Terry Gou attributed some of the suicides to the compensation packages offered to the victim's family.
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