Apple has released its 2011 report on supplier responsibility, essentially an audit of its overseas component suppliers and manufacturing facilities from a social responsibility angle. The report came to light after 36 environmental groups in China launched a 26-page complaint against the iPhone maker. Accusations have ranged from worker abuse to inhumane working conditions.
“We require that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made,” the report reads. “Suppliers commit to the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct as a condition of doing business with us. Drawing on internationally recognized standards, our code outlines expectations covering labor and human rights, health and safety, the environment, ethics and management commitment.”
Apple Discovers False IDs
Apple noted that Chinese factories have increasingly turned to labor agencies
and vocational schools to meet workforce demands. Apple said it discovered that some of these recruitment sources may provide false IDs that misrepresent young people’s ages, posing challenges for factory management.
“To address this difficult scenario, we intensified our search for underage labor
in 2010, interviewing more workers and further scrutinizing recruiting practices,
employment records, and worker IDs, especially where third-party labor
agencies and schools were involved,” Apple revealed. “Our audits of 127 facilities revealed 10 Chinese factories that had hired workers under the age of 16 years, the minimum age for employment in China.”
Across nine of those facilities, Apple said 49 workers were hired before reaching the legal age. Working with experts in the field, Apple said it conducted a complete analysis of the hiring systems at each factory. The results: All the facilities had unsophisticated systems for age verification and ID checks.
“Apple has shown a tremendous amount of transparency with this effort as well as expressing concern over some of these conditions,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at…