The controversy surrounding gadget manufacturer Foxconn and its string of employee suicides has been well-documented, but recent news shows that the company is trying to make things better.  Foxconn recently decided that in an attempt to keep employees alive, it would increase wages by 20 percent.  Since the company's profit margins are thin, Foxconn would likely pass the cost of the pay raise off to its customers in the future.  Apple, one of Foxconn's biggest customers, has already said they would help pay for a wage increase to stop employee suicides.  Both Steve Jobs and Guo Tai-Ming, Foxconn's CEO, recently stated that the company's factories are not sweatshops, but it's nice to see action finally being taken to remedy the situation.  Recent protests of the company have shown that the employee unrest is growing, so Foxconn must act quickly to turn the tide of suicides and to better the conditions in its factories.  As conditions increase, the costs are passed on to companies like Apple, Dell, and HP, and then those costs are generally passed down again, this time to the consumers.  So, would you pay more for your gadgets to ensure that the people making them are working in good conditions?

Via Reuters