An 18-year-old from Yunnan province falls to her death from a dormitory at one of electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group's Shenzhen plants.
A day earlier, another 18-year-old, from Jiangxi province, jumps from a seventh-floor dormitory window at the same plant, in Guanlan, in an apparent suicide attempt. A tree cushions her fall.
A month earlier, in March, three other young workers jump off buildings at another Foxconn plant. Two die. In January, a teenage trainee plunges to his death at the Guanlan plant.
Foxconn employees, who make components of Apple's iPhones, iPads and iPods, and parts for Sony and Dell, say work pressures may have been a contributory factor in the some of the suicides.
A former workshop supervisor who left Foxconn in the middle of last year said workers were subjected to body searches to prevent theft. They were punished when they made mistakes at work. 'Body searches were not unusual, to prevent people taking out phones or USB drives,' the former employee said. 'Workers who have made mistakes may be forced to stand for a long time or even to clean the washroom.'
Still, work conditions may not always be a factor. The woman saved by a tree on Tuesday, and who was afterwards reported in critical condition, had apparently jumped following an argument on the phone with her boyfriend, company spokesman Liu Kun was quoted as saying.
