Fujitsu Siemens Computers does not take responsibility for labor rights violations in their supply chain in China
April 1, 2009*
press_release_april_1_2009_sacom_weed
SACOM and WEED: Fujitsu Siemens Computers does not take responsibility for
labor rights violations in their supply chain in China
Taiwanese-invested Compeq Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has been communicating
closely with SACOM and WEED following the release of /The Dark Side of
Cyberspace Report /in December 2008. The report uncovers serious
violation of workers rights such as excessive overtime hours, payment
below the legal minimum wage and an authoritarian system of labor
control. On March 24, 2009, top-level management from Compeq, Compal
Electronics, Dell and SACOM met to share good practices of worker
representation and sustainable production. Hit hard by the global
financial crisis, Compeq laid off some of its workforce at its Huizhou
facility in the short-term but quickly managed to recruit new workers in
early 2009. SACOM was impressed by these stakeholders’ strong commitment
to continuously improving labor and environmental standards in the
electronics industry.
In contrast to these companies’ responsible behavior, Hong Kong-owned
*PC Partner and Excelsior Electronics *(Dongguan) has refused to share
information about their workplace conditions for the full three months
since they received the report. In correspondence with SACOM and WEED,
Alex Wong, Chief Human Resource & Administration Officer at Excelsior,
stated that he did not “agree with most of the allegations” in the
report. However, he failed to provide the concerned public with any
evidence that could show the report to be mistaken.
Worse yet, *Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC)* *– *while awarding
Excelsior a preferred Chinese supplier in 2007 *– *positions itself as
merely “an observer” in this serious case of worker exploitation. Behind
the facade of the FSC code of conduct, there seems no real effort on
FSC’s part to collaborate with Excelsior to take concrete corrective
actions. “We cannot accept Fujitsu Siemens Computers’ defining itself as
an “observer,” which amounts to denying its responsibility for its
supply chain. That forced us to cancel the April 2 meeting with FSC and
Excelsior,” explained Jenny Chan (SACOM).
Communication with FSC was very difficult as its corporate social
responsibility (CSR) manager was laid off soon after the announcement of
Fujitsu’s acquisition of FSC in November 2008. In an email to SACOM on
March 25, 2009, FSC said that “there is no person-in-charge for CSR
issues in China.”
Effective on April 1, 2009, the German-Japanese joint-venture company
FSC will be solely owned by Fujitsu. Sarah Bormann of WEED calls on
Fujitsu to “commit to workers’ rights and welfare at the Excelsior
facility *– *its tier-one supplier *– *in southern China.”
CONTACT PERSONS:
*Jenny Chan, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM),
*Hong Kong/China,* *
wlchan@sacom.hk <mailto:wlchan@sacom.hk>, Telephone: (852) 2392 5464,
Fax: (852) 2392 5463
*Sarah Bormann, World Economy, Ecology & Development (WEED),*
Berlin/Germany,
sarah.bormann@weed-online.org <mailto:sarah.bormann@weed-online.org>,
Mobile: 0049-160-96654332
The report /The Dark Side of Cyberspace/ is downloadable from
www.sacom.hk <http://www.sacom.hk/> and www.pcglobal.org
<http://www.pcglobal.org/>.
