The Information on Wednesday reported that Apple ignored breaches of China’s temporary labor law in its supply chain for years because it was concerned about increased costs and product launch delays. The report cited internal company documents.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
Foxconn, Pegatron, and Quanta Computer, three of Apple’s major assembly partners, faced difficulties complying with the law between 2013 and 2018, The Information said.
In 2014, more than half of a surveyed 362 suppliers broke the temporary worker law, and in March 2015, 81 of 184 Apple suppliers topped the 10% threshold, according to The Information. That continued in parts of 2016, 2017 and 2018, the website said… Apple executives knew that its production strategy increased demand for temporary staff, known as dispatch workers, The Information reported, citing internal data it obtained.
“Apple is dedicated to ensuring everyone in our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect,” Apple said in a statement. “Workplace rights are human rights and our Supplier Code of Conduct is the strongest in the industry, and it applies equally to everyone across our supply chain.”
“Occasionally factories use temporary labor and we monitor this closely to ensure compliance with our Code,” Apple added. “Where we find issues we work closely with the supplier on corrective action plans. As always, our focus is on making sure that everyone in our supply chain is protected and treated with dignity and respect.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s extremely comprehensive Supplier Responsibility Report is publicly posed on Apple.com .