A life in the day of a Foxconn employee

Young factory worker makes the best out of her experience

On any given day, it is not the alarm clock that wakes Li Liyan from her sleep at 7 am. Rather it is the constant and hasty footfalls that reverberate around the corridors which function as the clock for the 21-year-old assembly line employee.

Li works at the Longhua plant of Foxconn Technology Group in Dongguan, Guangdong province, as part of the team used by the contract manufacturer to assemble Apple's iPhones and iPads, HP computers and products for several other global companies.

Though life is often tough, many like Li have learned to make the best out of the existing circumstances to fulfill their needs.

In the 16-square-meter room that also doubles up as her second home are the four bunk beds of her roommates. Though the air-conditioning system is temporarily down in the female dormitory, the two electric fans on the ceiling run constantly to keep the room cool.

Most of her roommates, working the night shifts, return to the dormitory at a time when Li begins her day shift at the assembly line.

Unlike most of her colleagues, Li has very few personal belongings on her bed. There are just one pillow, one quilt and a very thin cotton-padded mattress. There are no stuffed toys or other gadgets that one would normally expect a young person to have.

Li has been living on her own for many years, though her parents, first generation migrant workers, are still in neighboring Foshan.

Despite the tough schedule, Li says she enjoys the brief moments of solitude as she ambles along to the big washroom that she shares with the other female employees living in the 30-odd rooms on the same floor.

She pays 110 yuan ($17, 15 euros) every month to her employer, Foxconn, for the accommodation, which includes free hot water in the washroom and a public laundry service.

Though there is a rush in the washroom in the morning, Li manages to finish her morning chores in 10 minutes and changes into a white T-shirt that sports the Foxconn logo and a pair of light blue jeans. Her work day is about to begin.

Near the exit to her dormitory is a small, closed library cum reading room that contains periodicals, magazines and books. Though she has been around for more than four months, she is still not sure of the exact timings of the library.

There are huge safety nets all round the dormitory, particularly near the windows. After a string of suicide cases in recent times, safety nets have become mandatory at all Foxconn dormitories.

To help the young workers spend their time "fruitfully", Foxconn has also set up some entertainment centers and other recreational facilities like a swimming pool near the dormitories.

Security is strict in these facilities and Li has to use her access card to enter or exit the dormitory. To enhance the tracking system and security management, Foxconn has set up several check points en route to the manufacturing facility and residential complexes.

There are 20 canteens in the plant, but for breakfast, Li prefers to go to a small porridge shop near her workshop for her favorite plain congee. Her breakfast of a bowl of congee, a fried egg and a steamed dumpling costs about 2 yuan.

Li reaches her workplace at 7:40 am. The department she is working in is currently making HP computers and Li has to put on the HP logos and labels on the finished devices and check the components.

At 7:50 am, Li's team gathers for their morning meeting. In the chair is Liu Wei, a 26-year-old team leader, who repeats the work regulations and hands out assignments to team members.

"You should work carefully, and make sure that the products you make are of good quality. No chatting is allowed during working hours," Liu says.

By about 7:55 am, Li has started her working day.

Before joining Foxconn in January, Li worked for three factories including clothing and electronics factories in Dongguan.

Sticking the labels and logos on devices may sound boring, but for Li, it is good work. "Other factories that I worked in required me to work for longer hours, in some cases from 8 am to 10 pm. The previous working environment was also full of dust and noise," Li says.

Li's cousin who works at the Guanlan plant of Foxconn introduced Li and her younger brother to the Longhua plant.

During the 10-minute morning break at 10 am, Li and her workmates make a beeline to the restroom. Some drink water, others chat online through their mobile phones, while some just talk to each other. Relationships and celebrity gossip are the common topics of most conversations.

After the brief recess, Li is back on to her job and works non-stop till 11:30 am when they break for lunch.

At the B10 canteen, Li has what is the biggest meal of her day. Though the canteen is not big, it is relatively silent. Li orders a dish of pork spareribs and corn, and a dish of fried rice noodles. She spends most of her lunch time with friends from her hometown and it often ends up as a flavorful affair as the group of girls order several different dishes.

After her lunch, Li walks back to her workshop to take a nap. "The girls who are taking night shift are sleeping in the dormitory. I do not want to wake them up," she says.

Reclining on a chair in the rest area, Li takes out her mobile phone and starts chatting with her friends.

In the rest area, a white board against the wall has the day's newspapers displayed prominently. It also includes the company paper, the Foxconn Weekly.

Sometimes, Li reads the newspapers to find some training information on computers. She has just finished her junior middle school in her hometown Yulin, in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. But she is planning to take a computer course that may help her to find a job in an office.

By 1 pm, the workers are back at work again for the second half of their working day.

During the 10-minute break at about 3 pm, Li goes to the washroom and washes her face to keep focused.

Though most of the production lines finish work at 5:30 pm, Li's team is asked to continue till 7 pm. Even though working extra hours is not compulsory, Li accepts most of the overtime requests. She has spent most of the money that she has earned during the first four months and now wants to make more and save a little for the future.

"Anyway, I do not have many things to do at night," she says.

When Li finishes work at about 8 pm, she realizes that her favorite canteen is closed. But the night-life in the plant is just about to begin. An outdoor food court sells all kinds of dishes and Li is able to find some snacks for dinner there.

At about 8:30 pm, Li gets back to her room. Most of her roommates have already left for their night shifts while some others have gone out with friends.

Taking a quick shower, Li ambles on to the TV room on the second floor. There are not many girls watching TV on week-nights. At about 10 pm, a tired Li just manages to crawl under the sheet in her dark bedroom and is soon fast asleep.

Yet another working day has ended and a new one is around the corner.

zhaoyanrong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/25/2012 page6)