Fair Labor Association On Apple’s Request Will Inspect Working Conditions At Faxconn

Posted on Feb 13 2012 - 2:01pm by Editorial Staff

Apple which reportedly find itself somewhere in reports of labor abuses among its suppliers twice – first NY Times reported Apple’s harsh working conditions at company’s component suppliers in China – and then followed by CNN published a video of journalist Stan Grant who recently sat down for an interview with a current Foxconn employee and iPad display assembler.

Today, the iPhone maker announced that the Fair Labor Association will conduct special voluntary audits of Apple’s final assembly suppliers, including Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China, at Apple’s request.

“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,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The 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.”

The FLA will interview thousands of employees about working and living conditions including health and safety, compensation, working hours and communications with management in the independent assessment. The FLA’s team will also inspect manufacturing areas, dormitories and other facilities, and will conduct an extensive review of documents related to procedures at all stages of employment.

The FLA’s findings and recommendations from the first assessments will be posted in early March on its website, www.fairlabor.org. Similar inspections will be conducted at Quanta and Pegatron facilities later this Spring, and when completed, the FLA’s assessment will cover facilities where more than 90 percent of Apple products are assembled. A team of labor rights began the first inspections Monday morning at the facility in Shenzhen known as Foxconn City.

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