To: rnsmth who wrote (16128 ) 1/26/2012 3:23:14 PM From: sinclap Read Replies (3) | Respond to But the working condition are 300% worse.Josh Ong (07:45 PM PST) A new report quotes former Apple executives as saying that the company has known about some "labor abuses" in supplier factories for years without requiring that they be addressed. The New York Times published on Wednesday a follow-up report to the profile on Apple's overseas manufacturing operations that appeared last week . The publication examined the "human costs" that go into the iPad and other such devices, drawing upon interviews with several dozen "current or former employees and contractors, including a half-dozen current or former executives with firsthand knowledge of Apple’s supplier responsibility group."supplier responsibility report , claiming that its zero-tolerance policy for underage labor is "the toughest in the electronics industry." The iPhone maker conducted 229 audits last year, an 80 percent increase from 2010, and discovered six active and 13 historical cases of underage labor at five facilities. CEO Tim Cook said in an email to employees that the supplier responsibility program has brought about "dramatic improvements in hiring practices" by Apple's suppliers.join the Fair Labor Association and had agreed to submit to independent checks by the association of supply chain facilities. Also of note, Apple for the first time released a list of its suppliers as part of its annual report.last May . The blast, which took place at a polishing plant for the iPad 2, killed four workers and injured several others. A Hong Kong-based advocacy group had reportedly sent a warning to Apple about the dangers of aluminum dust in Chengdu just weeks before the incident.second explosion occurred, this time at a facility owned by a subsidiary of Pegatron. Aluminum dust was again the cause of the explosion, with roughly 60 workers injured by it.Times . “There is a genuine, companywide commitment to the code of conduct. But taking it to the next level and creating real change conflicts with secrecy and business goals, and so there’s only so far we can go.”had met with several Chinese environmental groups to address their concerns. Apple's recent decision to release its supplier list is also a step toward them, as a number of offending suppliers that groups had accused Apple of partnering with have turned out not to work with the company.asserted in 2010 that the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China was "not a sweatshop," noting that the facilities include restaurants and movie theaters in addition to the manufacturing operations, but a former Apple executive told the Times that supplier and manufacturer conditions would be disturbing to most people.that year after a series of worker suicides. The issue recently made headlines again after plant workers at a facility producing Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console threatened mass suicide over a dispute with factory management.
