“Apple takes working conditions very seriously.” Apple CEO Tim Cook wasted no time addressing the issue on everyone’s mind as he took the stage for his keynote presentation at Tuesday’s Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. “We take the conditions of workers very seriously. I worked in factories; I worked at a paper mill. We understand working conditions at a very granular level.”
“We think that the use of underage labor is abhorrent. Our top priority is to eliminate it entirely,” Cook said. “If we find a supplier that intentionally supplies underage labor, it’s a firing offense.” Cook also cited the growth of the Mac revenue from $1.2B in sales in China and other emerging markets pre-iPhone launch to $13B last year.
Cook also urges that when it comes to worker safety and supplier responsibility – Apple is always expected to lead – the company from now on will publish monthly updates on worker hours, overtime and working conditions to its website – Cook words really said a lot and even enough for a lot of people to stop saying anything wrong against the Apple.
