Apple Putting Profit Before People
The allegation: "Apple Kills. Apple Does Not Respect Workers, Not Even Lives !"
I still think Apple should be boycotted for inhumanity ... Apple and their "partner-in-crime" are screwing Chinese workers upside down and insider out 24/7 !
Protesters outside an Apple store in Hong Kong in May of last year., Kin Cheung / AP Photo
Apple CEO responds to allegations of Chinese worker abuse
Is Apple finally getting tough on their abusive Chinese suppliers? Maybe. Intent on stemming the increasing complaints from the public and investors alike, Apple CEO Tim Cook fired off an email yesterday to combat claims from "people questioning Apple's values," detailing what the company is doing to find "problems" in their supply chain.
Tech giant Apple may have a net worth greater than most first-world countries, but working conditions at their Chinese suppliers' factories are notoriously third world. Addressing this, Cook wrote an email addressed to all employees to explain what the company is doing to combat abuses.
"Earlier this month we opened our supply chain for independent evaluations by the Fair Labor Association. Apple was in a unique position to lead the industry by taking this step, and we did it without hesitation. This will lead to more frequent and more transparent reporting on our supply chain, which we welcome. These are the kinds of actions our customers expect from Apple, and we will take more of them in the future."
Apple's new website, Supplier Responsibility, allows visitors to track the company's progress in addressing issues regarding their suppliers. There, you can learn more about Apple's requirements with regard to labor and human rights, worker health and safety, and environmental impact of the companies it contracts work out to.
Public outrage over Apple suppliers, especially notorious Chinese company Foxconn, is nothing new. Two workers were killed in a Foxconn iPad factory explosion in 2011, and the high rate of worker suicides has forced the contractor to install suicide-prevention netting. The Daily Show, among others, have compared Foxconn factories to prisons.
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
Demonstrators outside an Apple store in Hong Kong protest about the poor working conditions of employees of Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn which manufactures Apple products Photo: ANTONY DICKSON/AFP/Getty Images
According to Apple executives and Foxconn management, safety is the last thing on Apple's mind
Former Apple Exec: We Knew About Worker Abuse In China And Ignored ItDylan Love January 26, 2012
Apple has allegedly known about the abuse of Foxconn workers in China for a long time without doing anything to change it, according to a new report from the New York Times.
We've previously reported on the numerous difficulties that surround working for Foxconn -- employees threaten mass suicide over pay, the CEO takes his management cues from zookeepers, and there have been problems in the past regarding its hiring underage employees.
An anonymous Apple executive told the Times, "We’ve known about labor abuses in some factories for four years, and they’re still going on. Why? Because the system works for us. Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”
Another executive on the fact that underage worker violations keep occurring: "If you see the same pattern of problems, year after year, that means the company’s ignoring the issue rather than solving it. Noncompliance is tolerated, as long as the suppliers promise to try harder next time. If we meant business, core violations would disappear."
Apple is supposedly working on it, however. Another one of the Times's sources said, "We’re trying really hard to make things better but most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from."
Shameful: World's largest company, Apple, under pressure after appalling Chinese factory conditions exposed
By Mark Duell
Last updated at 11:00 AM on 27th January 2012
Technology giant Apple is under fire after the appalling conditions workers in its Chinese factories are forced to endure was exposed.
Working excessive overtime without a single day off during the week, living together in crowded dormitories and standing so long that their legs swell and they can hardly walk after a 24-hour shift, is commonplace in such factories, it has been revealed.
Almost 140 workers at a supplier in China were injured two years ago using a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens - and two explosions last year killed four people while injuring more than 75.
Hard grafters: Workers inside a factory of Foxconn, an Apple manufacturing partner, in the township of Longhua in the southern Guangdong province. A New York Times investigation looked at the working conditions
The California tech giant had allegedly been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant in southwest China before the explosions at those plants, reported the New York Times.
‘If Apple was warned and didn’t act, that’s reprehensible,’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology work safety expert Nicholas Ashford told the New York Times.
‘But what’s morally repugnant in one country is accepted business practices in another, and companies take advantage of that,’ the former U.S. Labor Department adviser added.
Banners in the Chengdu plant gave a warning to the 120,000 staff: ‘Work hard on the job today or work hard to find a job tomorrow’. Workers who arrived late often had to write confession letters.
The newspaper’s report comes hot on the heels of Apple announcing whopping $13billion profits on $46billion sales in its last quarter - but the firm still wants its overseas factories to produce more.
At work: Apple executives claim the firm has improved its factories in recent years and issues a supplier code of conduct on labour and safety - but problems still exist, according to labour advocacy groups
Apple executives claim it has improved factories in recent years and issues a supplier code of conduct on labour and safety - but problems still exist, according to employment advocacy groups.
“Hon Hai has a workforce of over one million worldwide and as human beings are also animals, to manage one million animals gives me a headache.”
Banner in Chengdu plant
More than half of the suppliers audited by Apple have broken at least one part of its conduct code each year since 2007 and have even broken the law in some cases, according to company reports.
A Foxconn employee jumped or fell from a block of flats after losing an iPhone prototype in 2009 - and 18 other workers apparently tried to commit suicide in two years, reported the New York Times.
Suicide nets were installed to prevent workers from jumping to their deaths and Foxconn began providing better mental health treatment for its staff.
Li Mingqi worked for Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology until last spring and helped manage the Chengdu plant which had the explosion. He is now suing Foxconn over his dismissal.
iPad use: The report comes hot on the heels of Apple announcing whopping $13billion profits on $46billion sales in its last quarter - but the firm still wants its overseas factories to produce more
‘Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost,’ Mr Li told the New York Times. ‘Workers’ welfare has nothing to do with their interests.’
A former Apple executive claimed that the company has had knowledge of labour abuses in some factories for four years - ‘and they’re still going on because the system works for us’.
Suppliers are only allowed the smallest margins on what they produce for Apple, and executives at the Cupertino company always ask them for details on part costs, worker numbers and salary sizes.
But workers at a factory of Apple partner Wintek went on strike after rumours that employees were exposed to toxins because they evaporated three times faster than alcohol when rubbing screens.
Treatment: A victim injured by an explosion at a Foxconn factory in May arrives at a hospital in Chengdu
Panic: Smoke rises as police and onlookers stand near at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, last May
Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs, who died last October, said two years ago that Apple is a worldwide leader in ‘understanding the working conditions in our supply chain’.
Foxconn said conditions are ‘anything but harsh’, just one in 20 workers assembly line workers must stand to do their jobs and the firm has a ‘very good safety record’, reported the New York Times.
But the Mail on Sunday visited a Foxconn factory making iPods in Shenzhen, China, in 2006, and our reports on long hours, crowded accommodation and punishments shocked Apple executives.
‘We’re trying really hard to make things better,’ one former Apple executive told the New York Times. ‘But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.’
Last updated at 11:00 AM on 27th January 2012
Technology giant Apple is under fire after the appalling conditions workers in its Chinese factories are forced to endure was exposed.
Working excessive overtime without a single day off during the week, living together in crowded dormitories and standing so long that their legs swell and they can hardly walk after a 24-hour shift, is commonplace in such factories, it has been revealed.
Almost 140 workers at a supplier in China were injured two years ago using a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens - and two explosions last year killed four people while injuring more than 75.
Hard grafters: Workers inside a factory of Foxconn, an Apple manufacturing partner, in the township of Longhua in the southern Guangdong province. A New York Times investigation looked at the working conditions
‘If Apple was warned and didn’t act, that’s reprehensible,’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology work safety expert Nicholas Ashford told the New York Times.
‘But what’s morally repugnant in one country is accepted business practices in another, and companies take advantage of that,’ the former U.S. Labor Department adviser added.
Banners in the Chengdu plant gave a warning to the 120,000 staff: ‘Work hard on the job today or work hard to find a job tomorrow’. Workers who arrived late often had to write confession letters.
The newspaper’s report comes hot on the heels of Apple announcing whopping $13billion profits on $46billion sales in its last quarter - but the firm still wants its overseas factories to produce more.
At work: Apple executives claim the firm has improved its factories in recent years and issues a supplier code of conduct on labour and safety - but problems still exist, according to labour advocacy groups
'Work hard on the job today or work hard to find a job tomorrow'
Apple's Exclusive Contractor Foxxconn's workers are ANIMALS !
Quote of the Day: Foxconn CEO Terry Gou on managing a million animals
- FOXCONN CEO TERRY GOU AT AN ANNUAL FAMILY DAY FOR STAFF AT THE TAIPEI ZOO.
A Foxconn employee jumped or fell from a block of flats after losing an iPhone prototype in 2009 - and 18 other workers apparently tried to commit suicide in two years, reported the New York Times.
Suicide nets were installed to prevent workers from jumping to their deaths and Foxconn began providing better mental health treatment for its staff.
Li Mingqi worked for Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology until last spring and helped manage the Chengdu plant which had the explosion. He is now suing Foxconn over his dismissal.
iPad use: The report comes hot on the heels of Apple announcing whopping $13billion profits on $46billion sales in its last quarter - but the firm still wants its overseas factories to produce more
'What’s morally repugnant in one country is accepted business practices in another, and companies take advantage of that'
Nicholas Ashford, work safety expert
The fatal Chengdu explosion came from an aluminium dust build up three weeks after the iPad came out. Despite Apple’s probe, seven months on there was a further, non-fatal, explosion in Shanghai.Nicholas Ashford, work safety expert
A former Apple executive claimed that the company has had knowledge of labour abuses in some factories for four years - ‘and they’re still going on because the system works for us’.
Suppliers are only allowed the smallest margins on what they produce for Apple, and executives at the Cupertino company always ask them for details on part costs, worker numbers and salary sizes.
But workers at a factory of Apple partner Wintek went on strike after rumours that employees were exposed to toxins because they evaporated three times faster than alcohol when rubbing screens.
Treatment: A victim injured by an explosion at a Foxconn factory in May arrives at a hospital in Chengdu
Panic: Smoke rises as police and onlookers stand near at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, last May
'We’re trying really hard to make things better. But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from'
Former Apple executive
He said many of the factories have restaurants, cinemas, hospitals and swimming pools. While staff say they appreciate these facilities, the working conditions are still seen as relentless.Former Apple executive
Foxconn said conditions are ‘anything but harsh’, just one in 20 workers assembly line workers must stand to do their jobs and the firm has a ‘very good safety record’, reported the New York Times.
But the Mail on Sunday visited a Foxconn factory making iPods in Shenzhen, China, in 2006, and our reports on long hours, crowded accommodation and punishments shocked Apple executives.
‘We’re trying really hard to make things better,’ one former Apple executive told the New York Times. ‘But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.’
Read The Brilliant Expose HERE By CHARLES DUHIGG and DAVID BARBOZA - In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad HERE
I'd soon copy the whole article and all the "Bloody Apple" pictures for permanent archive just in case they're forced to be deleted by the Almighty Apple.
Foxconn's Partner In Crime - Bloody Apple
"Steve Job Is A Co-Blood-Sucker !"
Apple Criticized for Environmental Pollution
"Evil iPad"
"Foxconn is a BLOOD SUCKER"
Foxxconn condemned worldwide
Foxconn worker killed himself in protest of ill treatment
I felt the pain of my fellow workers because I, too, slaved for 10 years at a factory and endured its strict rules. The restrictions at my state-owned factory, however, paled in comparison to those of cold-hearted capitalism. There is labour law that forbids a 16-hour working day, among other malpractices, but it is not forcefully implemented by the local authority. After all, the private or foreign-invested enterprises bring revenues.
Family members of Foxconn suicide victim worker Ma Xiangquian protesting outside the company
Apple Fan Mark Shields wrote:
"I want to know that when I buy products from you, it’s not at the cost of horrible human suffering.”
"Apple’s products have already changed his life, but the recent news has left people like me “with a terrible knot in our stomach [sic].”"Evil Products - iPhone, iPad, iPod, iPoo , iPee & iWhatever from Apple !"
BOYCOTT !
"Apple Kills, Apple Does Not Respect Workers, Not Even Lives !"
Mass Suicide Protest
'Steve Jobs Rob Our Lives !"
The Suicide Victims
"We're Human, We're Not Machines, But Where's Our Dignity ?"
Boycott Bloody Apple !
Boycott Bloody Apple !
Thank you all for helping to highlighting the plight of the poor souls in Dragonland.
Trust me, you have just secured a "ride" to Heaven but the "class war" is not over yet because Apple remains a almost almighty "evil" force !
Working for Foxconn
1.2 million: number of workers employed by Foxconn [7] in China, according to the New York Times.
40: Estimated percent of the world's consumer electronics [7] manufactured by Foxconn.
7: seconds it takes Foxconn's workers to complete a single step of their work [8], according to a survey cited by the New York Times.
12: Hours in a typical work shift, according to interviews [9] with Foxconn employees [2].
83.2: Average hours of overtime worked each month [10], according to a 2010 survey of Foxconn employee.
13: age of a Foxconn employee Mike Daisey interviewed [2] outside the gates of a Foxconn plant in Shenzhen.
91: cases of underage labor found by Apple's audits of its suppliers [11] in 2010, the year Daisey visited China.
3,000: number of workers Foxconn could hire overnight, according to Apple's former worldwide supply demand manager [12].
10-20: percent estimated monthly turnover [2] in Foxconn's workforce.
$7,500: amount founder Terry Gou used to start the anchor company of Foxconn Technology Group in 1974,according to the company website [13].
$5.7 billion: Terry Gou's estimated net worth [14] as of March 2011.
Living Conditions
230,000: number of workers at "Foxconn City" [12] in Shenzhen, according to the New York Times.
13: tons of rice prepared each day [15] at the central kitchen at Foxconn City.
$0.65: meal allowance for dinner at the Foxconn City canteen [9] in 2010.
2: number of free swimming pools [16] there, according to The Telegraph, which noted that the pools "are said to be quite dirty."
70,000: number of workers at Foxconn's Chengdu plant who live in company dorms [17], according to the New York Times.
20: number of employees sometimes packed into a three-room apartment [17].
200: Reported number of police officers who responded to a Foxconn dormitory riot [17].
Deaths
17: Number of reported suicides [18] of Foxconn workers in China between 2007 and February 2011, according to Wired. Eleven workers died after jumping off buildings in the Foxconn Campus in Shenzhen, which were then draped with preventive netting. (Wired noted that the rate actually seems to be below China's national averages.)
70: number of psychiatrists employed by Foxconn [19] to prevent suicides, according to a 2010 announcement by CEO Terry Gou.
100: Estimated number of employees at a Foxconn factory in Wuhan who stood on the roof of a factory building this month to protest [20] working conditions and wages. Several threatened to commit suicide, according to theNew York Times.
$450: monthly salary a worker involved in that protest said employees had been promised [20] for moving from the Foxconn campus in Shenzhen to one in Wuhan.
34: continuous hours a Foxconn employee worked in 2010 before he collapsed and died [2], according to media reports [21].
4: workers killed last year by an explosion at a Foxconn factory [22] in Chengdu, China that assembles iPads[23].
$22: approximate daily salary [24] earned by Lai Xiaodong, a 22-year-old college graduate, working at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, according to the New York Times.
$150,000: approximate amount the company wired Lai's family [7] after he was killed in the aluminum dust explosion.
12 deaths @ Foxconn @ Apple China Partner
Bloody Apple: Steve Jobs & iPhone behind China 'Suicide Factory'?
Protesters in Hong-Kong have demonstrated outside a shop selling Apple products, condemning both the computer giant and its supplier for a recent spate of suicides. People chanted slogans outside the outlet, demanding better monitoring of working conditions. 11 workers at the factories that make the products took their lives this year, and four more attempted to kill themselves. There has been no response from Apple, but the supplier announced two pay raises after the suicides.
Here is one of those who's organizing boycott of the Rotten Apple: -
I've started a page to help organize those planning to Boycott Apple. Please join.
We need to stop supporting sweatshops, and support jobs returning to the United States. It is no longer humane, compassionate or Christian to buy an Apple product.
If you are any or all of the three, I implore you, join the cause and write Apple to stop using Chinese slave labor!
http://www.causes.com/causes/649628-boycott-apple-boycotting-inhumane-labor-practices?recruiter_id=76533414 on Seriously, should consumers boycott Apple?
- Apple: "Two wrongs make a right"
- Apple Obsence Profit Is Built With Human Cost
- Boycott Apple? Yes please
- Dear Apple: Do something about Chinese working conditions
- Apple responds but I am not impressed, not yet
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 15
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 14
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 13
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 12
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 11
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 10
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 9
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 8
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 7
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 6
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 5
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 4
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 3
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 2
- Boycott Apple until "Humanity" is Restored 1
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