It’s no secret conditions at factories are not always optimal, often even bringing health risks to the workers that make our beloved devices. Even the biggest Android manufacturer has been involved in issues like this one. You may have not heard of it much, as it was a 12-year old dispute that was only resolved last year, when Samsung issued an official apology to affected employees and families.
As you can expect, though, these long lawsuits are not resolved simply by saying “sorry”. Money is absolutely in between – Samsung is creating a 100 billion won fund to compensate cancer-stricken workers and their families, as well as improving working conditions in their chip and display factories. This amount equates to above $85 million USD.
But just how big was this ordeal? According to Sharps (South Korean activist group), there’s around 200 victims acquired illnesses such as lymphoma and leukemia, thanks to prolonged exposure to radiation and other chemicals Samsung factories had in use. Around 70 of them have been deceased.
By the way, Samsung factory issues are not only a thing of the past. Like with many other factories across the world, Samsung has been under significant fire for their working conditions. They have been recently accused for child labor and poor working conditions. Not the best thing to be recognized for, but this is an issue that expands far beyond a single company. It’s something that needs to be tackled industry-wide, and across the globe.
