Apple Case Analysis
| Apple Case Analysis | Dr. Jacobs Buad326.101 | | Charles Fields | 4/12/2012 |
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Foxconn a major Chinese manufacturer and supplier of Apple products, was audited from February-March 2012, after receiving an increasing amount of criticism in relation to their current business practices. Accused of “turning a blind eye to dismal working conditions at partner factories” (Paronen, 1), Apple agreed to allow the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to conduct an audit of their suppliers’ factories which lead to the discovery of numerous labor, environmental, health and safety violations. The audit which was publically released in March 2012, led to increased pressure and negative media calling for Apple to ameliorate current Foxconn working conditions and practices. Of the three facilities audited, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) found “several problems with excessive overtime and overtime compensation, along with health and safety risks that led to a widespread sense of unsafe working conditions among workers” (FLA, Foxconn report). Below are a few of the health, safety and environmental violations disclosed in the report.
At the Fu Tai Hua Industrial factory in Shenzhen, China, the FLA determined there was “sustainable improvement needed in recruitment, hiring and personnel development after they discovered the factory requires workers, excluding interns and short term workers, to sign a three year contract that provides for an extended probationary period of six months however, the FLA probation period limit is three months as noted in their benchmark” (FLA, Foxconn report). In addition to the FLA benchmark violations, several overtime violations were discovered. In the report obtained from the Fair Labor Associations website, 90% of workers interviewed at the Fu Tai Hua factory reported they were not paid for work related training and testing performed after regular working hours. Auditors found employees were unaware of their rights having no
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Foxconn a major Chinese manufacturer and supplier of Apple products, was audited from February-March 2012, after receiving an increasing amount of criticism in relation to their current business practices. Accused of “turning a blind eye to dismal working conditions at partner factories” (Paronen, 1), Apple agreed to allow the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to conduct an audit of their suppliers’ factories which lead to the discovery of numerous labor, environmental, health and safety violations. The audit which was publically released in March 2012, led to increased pressure and negative media calling for Apple to ameliorate current Foxconn working conditions and practices. Of the three facilities audited, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) found “several problems with excessive overtime and overtime compensation, along with health and safety risks that led to a widespread sense of unsafe working conditions among workers” (FLA, Foxconn report). Below are a few of the health, safety and environmental violations disclosed in the report.
At the Fu Tai Hua Industrial factory in Shenzhen, China, the FLA determined there was “sustainable improvement needed in recruitment, hiring and personnel development after they discovered the factory requires workers, excluding interns and short term workers, to sign a three year contract that provides for an extended probationary period of six months however, the FLA probation period limit is three months as noted in their benchmark” (FLA, Foxconn report). In addition to the FLA benchmark violations, several overtime violations were discovered. In the report obtained from the Fair Labor Associations website, 90% of workers interviewed at the Fu Tai Hua factory reported they were not paid for work related training and testing performed after regular working hours. Auditors found employees were unaware of their rights having no
Bibliography: Apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Supplier_Code_of_Conduct_V3_1.pdf FLA, Foxconn Investigation Report. Fairlabor.org/report/foxconn-investigaton-report. Foxconn.com Paronen, Lars. Tech Wrap: Apple reveals child labor at some suppliers. Reuters.com Reuters.com