Tag Archives: working conditions

Improvements at Foxconn’s China factory

Foxconn has been under the microscope due to excessive overtime and poor working conditions at its Chinese production facilities. A report in the New York Times suggests the company is making changes that'll improve the workplace for its 1.4 million employees in China. These improvements include less overtime, pay increases and improved working conditions.

The report chronicles Pu Xiaolan, a migrant worker from Sichuan province who has benefitted from Foxconn's worker-friendlier policies. She previously had a chair to helps her with her work inspecting iPad cases, but it didn't have back support. She would end her shift so sore that she had difficulty sleeping. Pu says she now has a wooden chair with a high, sturdy back that eases the strain on her back. She has even heard of some employees getting chairs with cushions.

Apple's influence on Foxconn and its increasingly prominent role in worker's rights is also highlighted in the New York Times article. Human rights groups hope the Cupertino company will continue to focus on improving conditions for factory workers overseas. Many believe Apple has the public stature to initiate major changes in the way assembly workers are treated in the workplace. These improvements would not be limited to Foxconn, they could ripple throughout the entire electronics manufacturing industry.

You can read the full article about Apple, Foxconn and working conditions on the New York Times' website.

Improvements at Foxconn's China factory originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 27 Dec 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Foxconn reduces working hours, workers ask why

The Fair Labor Association released its first report about the conditions it found in Foxconn factories during a recent investigation. The report details over 50 violations that center on excessive overtime and low pay. To improve the working environment, Foxconn has vowed to slash overtime without decreasing workers compensation. This change, however, has Foxconn workers concerned says a Reuters report.

Some employees are afraid less hours will translate into less money, a situation they don't want. "We are worried we will have less money to spend. Of course, if we work less overtime, it would mean less money," one 23-year-old employee told Reuters.

Another worker said, "We have just been told that we can only work a maximum of 36 hours a month of overtime. I tell you, a lot of us are unhappy with this. We think that 60 hours of overtime a month would be reasonable and that 36 hours would be too little."

Foxconn reduces working hours, workers ask why originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Protesters aimed to deliver new letter to Apple during shareholders meeting

Protestors delivered letters to Apple Stores around the world asking Apple to re-examine its use of Foxconn production factories overseas. Apple decided (relatedly or otherwise) to step up its inspections of those factories, so you probably won't be surprised to hear that protestors planned to do it all again. SumOfUs aimed to deliver a letter to Apple during its recent shareholder meeting, allegedly written by two factory workers who claim they were poisoned while working on the line.

The protest and the meeting were both held the morning of February 23, so hopefully the handoff went off without a hitch. Apple hasn't officially acknowledged these protests, and I'm sure it would rather not have these kinds of claims bouncing around in public. Still, Apple hasn't been closed off to the issue; the company often runs inspections on overseas factories and has consistently said that every facility where its products are built adheres to all standard regulations.

So far, all these protestors have asked for is to "reform working conditions," but exactly what that means, or what form of action that might mean for Apple, is unclear. As long as these protestors remain civil and Apple continues to hear their concerns and act on them as best it can, hopefully everyone will do what's right for any workers dealing with unfair or possibly harmful conditions at these plants.

Protesters aimed to deliver new letter to Apple during shareholders meeting originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nightline Airs “Inside an iPad Factory” Expose


Foxconn

ABC’s Nightline aired their special last night, giving us an insider’s peek into a Foxconn factory in China that produce iPhones and iPads. Granted access to the factory by Apple, it seems that this “unprecedented” look inside the factory was a little less shocking than most were expecting.

The highlights of what we learned, as reported by The Verge:

It takes 141 steps to make an iPhone, and the devices are essentially all handmade It takes five days and 325 hands to make a single iPad Foxconn produces 300k iPad camera modules per day Foxconn workers pay for their own food — about $.70 per meal, and work 12 hour shifts Workers who live in the dorms sleep six to eight a room, and pay $17.50 a month to do so Workers make $1.78 an hour New employees at Foxconn undergo three days of training and “team building” exercises before they begin The FLA (which Apple brought in to audit Foxconn) is interested in whether or not workers will look up at visitors in a factory — if they’ll be “willing to look at curiosities” Apple paid $250,000 to join the FLA, and is paying for its audit Louis Woo, when asked if he would accept Apple demanding double pay for employees replied “Why not?”

It goes without saying that working conditions in these factories are less than ideal. What should be pointed out is that while there may be thousands of people shown lining up for the jobs inside them, poverty can be highly motivating and forgiving –causing people to work in unreasonable and unfair conditions just to make a little bit of something in an effort to feed and care for their families.

There were sad and disturbing themes touched on for certain, including the cluster of suicides experienced at the factory that “led to the installation of suicide netting to discourage impulsive suicide attempts.” I think the real expose comes from the information that the suicide rate at Foxconn rests below the Chinese national average –something well beyond anything Apple has to do with.

The bright-side of this situation is that for the moment a light has been cast and Apple seems to be doing what they can (or have to) in order to improve things for those workers assembling their products.

Related Posts CNN Investigating iPad Factory Conditions, Apple Getting Involved Brazilian Factory Set to Make iPads Apple and Foxconn to Open New Factory in Brazil to Build More iPad 2s

Fair Labor Association to Inspect iPhone and iPad Factories


Fair Labor AssociationIt seems the Apple is taking the allegations of unfair working conditions in their factories very seriously. With the help of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), Apple will be conducting special voluntary audits of Foxconn’s Chinese assembly factories beginning today.

The inspections will begin at Foxconn’s mega-facility in Shenzhen, conducted by a senior team that includes Fair Labor Association president Auret van Heerden.

When asked for a comment regarding the situation and subsequent inspections, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook noted:

We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we’ve asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers [...] inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports.

If the allegations of unfair and unsafe working conditions are accurate then they will be uncovered by these thorough inspections that include interviews (asking thousands of employees about health, safety, compensation,working hours, and communication with management) and physical review of manufacturing areas, dormitories, and other facilities as well as any relevant procedural documents.

Apple’s participation in the Fair Labor Association is unprecedented for a technology company and will hopefully represent a commitment to addressing these problems as they are reported and reviewed. While the news reports were quick to suggest that Apple has known about these problems for quite some time and did nothing to fix them, that hasn’t been proven and Apple is doing something now and that has to count for something (at least).

Foxconn is not the only supplier to be going under the microscope, Quanta and Pegatron are expected to undergo similar reviews later this spring. Before the report is complete the Fair Labor Association is expected to have reviewed over 90% of the factories where Apple’s products are assembled.

Simultaneous to this process, Apple is also continuing their ongoing internal audits for summary in their annual supplier responsibility report.

CNN Investigating iPad Factory Conditions, Apple Getting Involved


CNNAfter a report from CNN indicated that working conditions at a Foxconn factory that assembles iPads may be less than ideal, Apple has pledged to “protect every worker in its worldwide supply chain.” The subject of the report with pseudonym “Miss Chen” indicated that she works over 60 hours per week with benefits and sick leave being made available to other, more senior employees.

Chen went on to describe how she was promised all manner of things before taking the position in the factory but that the reality was much different. When CNN started investigating, Apple issued the following statement:

“We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. We insist that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing products wherever Apple products are made. Our suppliers must live up to these requirements if they want to keep doing business with Apple.”

Foxconn should be concerned when employees like Chen are reporting that they don’t even have time to go home given they need to sleep and eat at work, because Apple doesn’t like to be embarrassed and I would expect that their continued business is pretty meaningful to them.

With reports indicating that these are the “human costs” that go into the production of an iPad there are questions surrounding just how accountable Apple should be for these kinds of working conditions. Some accusations say Apple has known that these problems exist and does nothing while others say that this is the norm in overseas factories and that it shouldn’t be seen as a problem just because it wouldn’t be tolerated by North American workers (the latter of which seems a little ridiculous, honestly).

Apple CEO Tim Cook denies that the company was aware of the employee abuse and is quick to point out that they recently joined the Fair Labor Association which puts their entire supply chain up for review –would seem like a silly move for a company that was trying to hide something.

Related Posts EU Investigating Apple Over eBooks Pricing Practices Apple and Foxconn to Open New Factory in Brazil to Build More iPad 2s In-App Purchasing Patent – Apple Legal Investigating the Issue

Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou says Apple products are "very difficult to make"

Hon Hai, parent company of Foxconn, is blaming Apple for its poor financial performance over the past two quarters. Chairman Terry Gou confirmed the Chinese company invested heavily in its manufacturing plants to keep up with Apple's demand. He said Apple devices were "very difficult" to make.

The company's profit gains were also hit hard by Foxconn wage increases which were introduced following a rash of employee suicides and negative reports over the past few years. Gou hopes to turn things around in the last half of the year when its investment in manufacturing and lucrative Apple contracts should begin to pay off.

Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou says Apple products are "very difficult to make" originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Foxconn worker from Chengdu factory commits suicide

Foxconn

Sadly, a 20-year-old male employee at Foxconn (Apple's contract manufacturer for many products) committed suicide Thursday morning, according to a report from the Hong Kong China News Agency (HKCNA) cited by Bloomberg. The worker was reportedly employed at the company's new facility in Chengdu where an explosion killed three workers on May 20.

Further details about Thursday morning's incident are sparse, and the reasons behind the factory worker's suicide are currently unknown. This is at least the 14th publicized death by suicide among Foxconn's workforce since the start of 2010.

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou declined to comment about the incident saying he doesn't know the full details about the apparent suicide. However, last year, Gou said suicides by Foxconn employees were prompted by personal issues rather than tough working conditions in his company's facilities.

Labor groups like China Labor Watch disagree. Foxconn's critics have slammed the Taipei-based company for operating facilities with a sweatshop atmosphere -- an accusation Gou vehemently denies.

In response to last year's suicides and subsequent harsh criticism, Foxconn, which builds electronic products for several other recognizable brands including Sony and Dell, raised wages, slashed overtime, offered counseling, and tried to improve the work-life balance for its more than one million factory workers in China.

Although Foxconn's suicide rate remains markedly lower than China's national average, Thursday morning's death, last Friday's explosion, and protests outside a Foxconn shareholder meeting earlier this month suggest the manufacturer has more work to do to improve employee safety and overall satisfaction.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to the friends and family of the young man who died.

Foxconn worker from Chengdu factory commits suicide originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 27 May 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Foxconn employees asked to sign ‘no suicide’ pledge

FoxconnEnglish tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail is reporting that employees working for Foxconn, assembler of many Apple products, are being forced to sign pledges not to commit suicide. The report from the tabloid paper points to an investigation conducted by the Centre for Research on Multinational Companies and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (Sacom). Sacom claims it uncovered "appalling" working conditions at the Foxconn factory that include excessive overtime and public humiliation.

While the Daily Mail cites the Sacom study as evidence of abysmal working conditions at Foxconn, the Sacom report investigates factory conditions across China -- not just Foxconn -- and, in fact, congratulates Foxconn as being the only employer to pledge to meet government limits on overtime.

The anti-suicide letters seem to have been first published on the Shangaiist website, where there's some discussion on the exact translation of the supposed leaked Foxconn employee letter. The contentious, final paragraph states:

"In the event of non-accidental injuries (including suicide, self mutilation, etc.), I agree that the company has acted properly in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and will not sue the company, bring excessive demands, take drastic actions that would damage the company's reputation or cause trouble that would hurt normal operations."

But what Shangaiist author Elaine Chow translates as "will not sue the company," others translate as "will not make demands outside of law and regulation."

In fact, this anti-suicide pact that new workers are asked to sign seems to point them towards sources of help should they have problems, including a trade union hotline -- not quite the dismal picture painted by the Daily Mail.

[Via Slashdot]

Foxconn employees asked to sign 'no suicide' pledge originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 05 May 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple responds to critics of Chinese working conditions

Apple has reiterated company policy regarding the use of Chinese component suppliers and said it is "committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base," according to Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu quoted in Macworld today. The company says it requires all suppliers to agree to Apple's code of conduct before any contracts are signed.

Apple didn't comment directly on the report released yesterday by The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) critical of Apple's oversight of suppliers. In what it calls a Supplier Report (PDF), Apple has detailed the steps it takes to maintain compliance with policies that suppliers must meet. Apple admits that its own audits showed frequent violations by overseas companies, but the audits also detail the steps Apple took to keep these violations in check.

The 36 environmental groups that issued the critical report yesterday claim there is too large a gap from Apple written policies and the reality in the plants. You can download a PDF of the critical report, but note that it is in Chinese. The IPE also produced a video, also in Chinese, about the issue.

Apple responds to critics of Chinese working conditions originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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