Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, iPod Family, Apple
Apple issues Report on iPod Manufacturing
Apple has released a report on the alleged abuses in the iPod factory that we reported a few weeks ago. Apple sent a team of investigators to the factory and question and spoke to a number of randomly picked workers. Here is what they concluded, in a nice billeted list:
- No evidence of child or forced labor was found
- Dormitories are offered to all workers (there are 200.000 workers in the complex though fewer than 15% of those work on iPods) free of charge, but living in them is optional (most works choose to live in the dorms)
- Most of the dorms met with Apple's standards, however 3 recently converted dorms (they were factories before) did not, and the vendor has purchased land and is in the process of building replacements
- All workers make at least the local minimum wage (which may seem low to us, but in the context it isn't overly low) with many employees making more. Apple did find that reporting hours and the pay structure were too complex. The vendor is redoing both processes.
- No forced overtime was found, however, the Apple weekly limit of a 60 hour work week with one day off was exceeded 35% of the time with workers working more then 6 straight days 25% of the time. Apple believes this to be excessive and is working with the vendor to correct it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael Newman said 6:46PM on 8-17-2006
So a 60hr work week with one day of is acceptable. You can argue the wage point all you want, it isn't comparatively low. The hours and week length are horrific though.
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Gordon Werner said 6:57PM on 8-17-2006
please.
this is all garbage. Having manufactured items myself in China, I will explain how this workd. the condistions suck. The factory gets notice of a review ... the conditions improve ... the client sees things are good and then leaves ... the conditions return to poor.
This is how it works in china ... 10hrs a day ... 6 days a week.
Good jobs in China are scarce with all the population ... and chinese workers WILL NEVER say something bad about their employer ... not if they want to keep their job at least ...
While most factories are better today than 5 years ago ... they have miles and miles to go before they even begin to approach anything that OSHA would certify as a decent work environment.
the factories that my company used were ok ... there were problems ... but I had seen much much worse at the time ... and the employees were generally happy ... and they were paid, fed and housed ...
This situation is endemic to ALL manufacturing in China (which these days is pretty much everything (thanks Walmart))
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Anthony said 7:29PM on 8-17-2006
Another day, another blogger keen to paint Apple in the kindest light possible.
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bigbwai said 7:35PM on 8-17-2006
I haven't been to China, but it sounds like Apple is doing all it can to improve working conditions there by a) not leaving; and b) being very transparent in their reporting. This is shining a spotlight on working conditions there, and each time that is done, it makes it harder to maintain poor conditions. I salute Apple for what they are doing.
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Liam Billington said 7:48PM on 8-17-2006
All we ever get is gruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuel!
Sounds like a certain Dickens novel.
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Steve Lang said 8:18PM on 8-17-2006
They should give these little kids some stock options!
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Steve Lang said 8:27PM on 8-17-2006
"This situation is endemic to ALL manufacturing in China (which these days is pretty much everything (thanks Walmart))"
Is Walmart to thank/blame, or the Chinese government? (can't believe I'm actually kinda defending Walmart here...)
The number one resource of developing countries is often cheap labor. But as these countries develop, they start instituting laws to protect the environment, workers, etc. Labor will no longer be cheap, but the country will have developed so that it has other strengths.
All that aside (and whether or not you believe free trade benefits all countries), are you suggesting that foreign companies should have to follow stricter workplace rules than native companies? Heck, that would be fine too. But that's for China to implement, not Walmart.
All the cheap stuff used to be made in Taiwan. Now those Taiwanese companies set up factories in China.
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MoonBear said 11:12PM on 8-17-2006
I agree with #2 post.
Most factory workers come from inner, rural, even poor places where no jobs are better than those factories right now. The wage can be astonishing low by US standard, but that's more than what they can get compared to their normal farm work.
If you know the wage they are getting you will be surprised why they are still willing to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and living in a dorm, and no complain at all.
Let me tell ya all the on-going rate there! It's around 500-600 RMB ,roughly US$60~$75 a MONTH! Just imagine living on $60 and see if you can survive a week in the States.
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Patrick Cheung said 11:30PM on 8-17-2006
Restricting working hours may mean better working conditions, but not necessarily the living condition. I don't know what the minimum wages are, but if it's not high, then workers will want to work longer to support their living.
Only restricting working hours without a resonable minimum wages is not good for the workers.
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Jonathan said 2:35AM on 8-18-2006
I don't think a 60 hour week with one day off is in any way acceptable. In fact it stinks. In the EU 48 hrs is the maximum, in the UK 35-37 hours is the norm with 20 days holiday plus public holidays.
And yet we still manage to be a leading world economy!
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south said 2:57AM on 8-18-2006
"the Apple weekly limit of a 60 hour work week with one day off was exceeded 35% of the time with workers working more then 6 straight days 25% of the time."
Thank you, kind Apple, for setting such generous limits, even if they were only observed 65% of the time.
That's 10 hours a day, Monday to Saturday, folks, and remember that is only the case 65% of the time and only under company inspection. Now talk amongst yourselves about how much you'd enjoy working under those conditions.
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mark schalken said 5:48AM on 8-18-2006
This is very sad to read.
Such low standards. What a depressing working conditions - to make beautiful products like the ipod.
Please Apple, raise your prices a few dollars - you are already expensive but I don't mind - and be fair to your workers.
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Brendon Carr said 7:02AM on 8-18-2006
In a labor-surplus environment (i.e. there are fewer jobs than workers), people take a job regardless of the conditions. In a labor-shortage environment, companies have to compete with each other to offer better conditions in order to attract scarce labor. A 60-hour workweek for $100-200/month is de rigeur in China for semi-skilled manufacturing labor. And yet it beats the hell out of sitting around back in Shaanxi wondering where the $2/month jobs are.
Forcing Apple's subcontractors to cut the working hours of hourly-wage employees results in a net decrease in their living standards. Many of these people toil in the factory and send money home to Shaanxi province. Nice going, hippies -- you've just made a lot of Chinese workers' families poorer.
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Mark d said 7:14AM on 8-18-2006
You're easily satiated. I'd like to see an unbiased third party organisation have access to the workers at random and unannounced times to see just how 'easy' they have it. And as others above already point out, a 60 hour week isn't exactly 'light'.
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larry.s.f@mindspring.com said 9:31AM on 8-18-2006
I work 60 hours a week frequently, maybe you're just a slacker. :D
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ih8bg8s said 11:24AM on 8-18-2006
May I'm playing the devils advocate here but do you think that the people who are working these long hours are doing it intentionally. I mean they probably arn't getting paid that much per hour so they put in the extra hours to make more money. I remember working for an hourly wage and I wanted to put in way more hours than I was "allowed"
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JC said 6:25PM on 8-18-2006
Apple shouldn't have to raise their prices. They should take the hit for what they have done and continue to sell their electronics at their already ridiculous prices. Once they have demonstrated their concern for unfair work conditions and enforcing an ethical approach to globalization, then they can integrate into aggressive marketing a show of their political consciousness and lead the industry by setting themselves apart from it by radically changing their workers policies to surpass China's standards. Again, they may have to initially take the hit for doing this, but taking such a contrary position and promoting this kind of awareness could put their competitors in a bad light and mean great things for the popularity of the Apple brand in the personal computer realm.
Call me crazy, but distinguishing themselves from the mainstream electronics industry has brought them major support, and using this as an opportunity to turn around could really mean something.
Otherwise, I might as well just go back to being a PC user. I like the OSX experience, but what's the point of buying extremely marked up product over another when they are both made with exploited labor? Truthfully, I can find software I enjoy on both XP and OSX platforms. Something for Apple to consider before they lose a devoted switcher.
Apple needs to also remember their audience. Pro-Corporation types are Windows guys. Pro-Hippie wheatgrass, save-the-animals, artsy socialist types are drawn more to the "creative" Apple platform. Don't piss them off. They WILL sit in front of your corporate office after not showering for weeks and hold up offensive slogan signs.
Or I might just print up flyers and pass them out in front of the Apple store and around my university campus.
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Mr.Clicky said 6:47PM on 8-18-2006
So did Apple put Nike through the same ethical audit before jumpimg into the foot locker with them?
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MoonBear said 8:17PM on 8-18-2006
I forgot to mention that, not only Apple, but also Walmart, Toys R Us, Disney, you name it! Any big names in the USA that has OEM in Asia has their "work code" or something with their respective factories. They also audit them every 1/2 year or so. The problem probably is, if you are setting a working guideline with US standard, it's fine; but if you are expecting them to live a life like you are in US, then you probably have to free the countries (China, for one) first.
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Mr.Clicky said 8:36PM on 8-18-2006
'Free' them? Like Iraq you mean?
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