June 7, 2010

Last week we alerted you to the tragic suicides at a Chinese factory making products for many of the world's best-known electronics brands - including Apple's new iPads. This week we're outraged by yet another death at the Foxconn factory, this time apparently due to exhaustion after Yan Li, a 27-year old Foxconn engineer, worked continuously for 34 hours.

Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) says Yan Li collapsed and died after returning home from his final shift. His wife reported that he worked overtime every night during the past month.

In the wake of worldwide publicity about the suicides and the receipt of thousands of protest messages being sent by labour rights supporters like yourself, Apple Inc. publicly committed to support a 30% pay increase for workers at the Foxconn factory. However, SACOM reports that the government is already expected to raise the minimum wage for the area by at least that much sometime in the next few weeks. As SACOM says, "apparently Foxconn's wage increase proposal is just getting a few weeks' start on an expenditure it will be required to make in the near future anyway".

The Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) is asking its supporters to keep up the pressure on Apple. If you have not already written to Apple, please take two minutes make your voice heard by clicking here.

• Read more about the Foxconn factory