“A labor group monitoring three Chinese factories that make iPhones and other Apple products says once-oppressive working conditions have steadily improved in the last 18 months, but more must be done to reduce the amount of overtime that employees work,” The Associated press reports. “The audit released Thursday by the Fair Labor Association represents the final assessment in a process that started last year at plants run in China by Apple’s largest supplier, Foxconn.”
“The report concluded Foxconn factories in Longhua, Chengdu and Guanlan had reached virtually all the goals set out in a plan adopted last year,” AP reports. “‘We are proud of the progress we have made together with the FLA and Foxconn,’ Apple said in a statement. ‘Our suppliers must live up to the toughest standards in the industry if they want to keep doing business with Apple.'”
“Foxconn plants in Longhua and Chengdu consistently limited workers’ time on the clock below 60 hours per week during the review period, according to the FLA. That met the labor group’s standards, but surpassed China’s legal limit of 49 hours per week,” AP reports. “Apple said it has reduced excessive overtime at Foxconn and other suppliers, cutting the average workweek to 53 hours, which the company said is well below industry norms.”
Read more in the full article here.
So now the rush is to Vietnam where labor costs are lower.
Why just Apple that’s always mentioned. It makes it look like Apple is the only company that uses Foxconn. Sure they say others but never mention the names.
Let’s see the New York Times run this as fast as they ran the article yesterday about the deaths at Pegatron they implied were attributable to Apple.
They won’t. It doesn’t fit their agenda.