Tag Archives: nokia

Business/Economics, International

Global Economic War: Nokia fires Chinese employees, violates Chinese law

The Finnish cell phone giant, Nokia, has laid off 170 employees in China.  Chinese officials say Nokia broke Chinese law, by giving only a ten day notice to the employees.

“Nokia China’s layoff at least violates the labor law in terms of procedure and according to the number of employees to be laid off and reasons, it is a staff reduction due to economic reasons.”-Zhao Zhanling, an IT law expert

Chinese law requires companies to give employees at least 30 days notice before being laid off.

Nokia officials would only say that the lay offs were not economically motivated.  In the past few months Nokia has seen huge drops in sales, not only in China, but around the world.

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Nokia Siemens helping governments to spy on you through social media

“If the U.S. or the EU are proudly focusing on internet freedom, while security and other ICT products made in the West are used to repress the same citizens we are trying to protect, this is clearly neither credible nor effective.”-Marietje Schaake, EU Member of Parliament from Netherlands

In Bahrain, where the U.S. supported government has been cracking down on peaceful protestors, and detaining and torturing them, human rights groups have revealed that Bahraini officials are tracking people’s activities through their cell phones.

Bahrain is using technology developed by Nokia Siemens.  Bahraini activist Abdul Ghani Al Khanjar said while he was being tortured his own cell phone conversations were being read back to him.  He was detained for seven months.

This is not the first time the company has been accused of enabling spying and torture.  Last year, two Iranians attempted to sued Nokia Siemens in U.S. Federal court. They alleged that the surveillance technology helped Iranian security forces to arrest and torture them.

Nokia Siemens Networks is a joint venture between the Finnish Nokia and the German Siemens.