Link to article: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jan/25/apple-child-labour-supply
Child labour
uncovered in Apple's supply chain
This article is about how Apple has discovered
multiple cases of child labour in its supply chain, including one Chinese
company that employed 74 children under the age of 16, in the latest
controversy over the technology giant's manufacturing methods. It uncovered 106
cases of underage labour being used at Apple suppliers last year and 70 cases
historically. One Chinese supplier, a circuit board component maker called
Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics, was axed by Apple after 74 children
under the age of 16 were recruited to work on its production lines. According
to Apple, the children had been knowingly supplied by one of the region's
largest labour agencies, Shenzhen Quanshun Human Resources. Its investigators
found that the agency conspired with families to forge identification
documents. Apple did not disclose the ages of the children involved, but its
code of conduct states it will not employ workers under the age of 15, or under
the legal working age in any jurisdiction – which is 16 in China. Apple ordered its suppliers to reimburse excessive recruitment fees – anything
higher than one month's wages – and said $6.4m
(£4m) was handed back to contract workers in 2012. Investigators found 90 facilities that deducted wages to punish workers,
prompting Apple to order the reimbursement of employees. Mandatory pregnancy
testing was found at 34 places of work, while 25 tested for medical conditions
such as hepatitis B. Apple said it took measures to protect whistleblowers, and
that it made 8,000 calls last year to workers interviewed by auditors in order
to find out if they had suffered intimidation.
Question: What are your thoughts on child labour?
uncovered in Apple's supply chain
This article is about how Apple has discovered
multiple cases of child labour in its supply chain, including one Chinese
company that employed 74 children under the age of 16, in the latest
controversy over the technology giant's manufacturing methods. It uncovered 106
cases of underage labour being used at Apple suppliers last year and 70 cases
historically. One Chinese supplier, a circuit board component maker called
Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics, was axed by Apple after 74 children
under the age of 16 were recruited to work on its production lines. According
to Apple, the children had been knowingly supplied by one of the region's
largest labour agencies, Shenzhen Quanshun Human Resources. Its investigators
found that the agency conspired with families to forge identification
documents. Apple did not disclose the ages of the children involved, but its
code of conduct states it will not employ workers under the age of 15, or under
the legal working age in any jurisdiction – which is 16 in China. Apple ordered its suppliers to reimburse excessive recruitment fees – anything
higher than one month's wages – and said $6.4m
(£4m) was handed back to contract workers in 2012. Investigators found 90 facilities that deducted wages to punish workers,
prompting Apple to order the reimbursement of employees. Mandatory pregnancy
testing was found at 34 places of work, while 25 tested for medical conditions
such as hepatitis B. Apple said it took measures to protect whistleblowers, and
that it made 8,000 calls last year to workers interviewed by auditors in order
to find out if they had suffered intimidation.
Question: What are your thoughts on child labour?