New York University student Dejian Zeng has shared his experience of working undercover in a Chinese iPhone factory for six weeks. Zeng's job was inserting screws in iPhones for as long as twelve hours daily.

Zeng would start working at the building in Pegatron, near Shanghai at 7:30 pm, putting in a twelve-hour shift including meals and breaks. As he said, trial productions were even worse because, during this period, they might only produce five phones a day which meant workers might be sitting for hours waiting for the next phone to be assembled. He further added that workers are often not allowed to speak or move from their spot on the assembly line, even for the bathroom breaks. You assemble one phone, Zeng said, and then you sit there quietly for two hours waiting for another. He called the process a "torture" and said that it was hard not to fall asleep. If any worker would do something against such rules, he/she would often be yelled at and then forced to stand for the rest of the shift.

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Apple's trial productions brought increased security. The factory increased sensitivity on the metal detectors during these periods. Women were forced to change if the underwire in their bra set off the increasingly sensitive scanners. Objects containing metal (mostly, lighters) or cell phones were confiscated upon entry.

After the shift was over, workers would return to their dorms to sleep. Zeng shared his dorm with seven other workers. He said that if he was lucky, there would be hot water for a shower after he returned. On some days, there would be no water at all. 

He said that meals were not that bad but each cost between five to eight yuan ($0.72 to $1.16). If workers wanted to try other meals, they could eat a meal outside for about twenty yuan ($2.90). Although this is cheap by US standards, these additional costs for impoverished workers were unaffordable at an already low salary. Coupled with additional expenses, like the in-dorm internet, or the physical exam required to start working there, the expenses mounted quickly.

Coming to salary, Zeng earned about 3,100 yuan" ($450) his first month. He earned about $665 during his six weeks at Pegatron.