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Apple says ‘no other company doing as much’ in response to BBC supply chain profile

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Ahead of a BBC special exploring work conditions in Apple’s supply chain airing tonight (update: video embedded below), BBC.com today published a story revealing the results of its investigation. The news outlet went undercover into Apple’s supply chain and claims “Apple’s promises to protect workers were routinely broken” while citing a number of workplace violations:

It found standards on workers’ hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers were being breached at the Pegatron factories…Exhausted workers were filmed falling asleep on their 12-hour shifts at the Pegatron factories on the outskirts of Shanghai… One undercover reporter, working in a factory making parts for Apple computers, had to work 18 days in a row despite repeated requests for a day off.

In response to the investigation, Apple told the BBC it “strongly disagreed with the programme’s conclusions” and provided the following statement:

“We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions… We work with suppliers to address shortfalls, and we see continuous and significant improvement, but we know our work is never done.” Apple said it was a very common practice for workers to nap during breaks, but it would investigate any evidence they were falling asleep while working. It said it monitored the working hours of more than a million workers and that staff at Pegatron were averaging 55 hours a week.

While the full investigation will air tonight in the BBC One special titled Apple’s Broken Promises at 21:00 GMT, the report will apparently reveal “evidence that tin from illegal mines could be entering its supply chain,” among other issues related to working conditions in Apple’s supply chain.

Screen Shot 2014-12-18 at 1.37.44 PM

It’s certainly not the first time Apple has come under fire for workplace conditions in its supply chain overseas, but the company has made several moves to be more transparent in recent years such as soliciting independent audits from The Fair Labor Association and publishing results of audits in its Responsibility Reports.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSvT02q4h40&feature=youtu.be]

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Comments

  1. Nick Donnelly - 9 years ago

    I live in Vietnam – it’s common practice to sleep at your place of work in East Asia.

    Why was only Apple investigated here – why not, say, Samsung? Pegatron is an external supplier who make products for a large number of companies not just Apple.

    Work culture in China is very different – people are happy – actively want to – work long hours.

    • Quan Nguyen - 9 years ago

      There are cases of clear violations and there are cases of just misunderstanding. You cannot simply view their work condition from the optics of an American worker working 9 to 5. Then yea what they are doing is pretty crazy.

      For a number of years, I worked as a field engineer in a foreign country and we got a huge differential pay in addition to our normal pay for every hour work to compensate for shift work and being away from family. Every single one of us WANTS to work 60 hours a day. The whole point for us being at that location is to make money hand over fist. Our company recently reduced the hours for the guys there from 60 hrs/week to 44 hrs/week and the engineers were UNHAPPY of the move. They didn’t want the extra off days, they want the extra pay! The same is true for these factory workers, they are making much much more than that they would get in any other position. They are trying to make as much money as possible so they can settle down and start a family. There are industries in the US where people work WAY more than these factory workers and I see nobody complaining about it. ICU interns work 75-80 hrs a week on at least a 14 hrs shifts. Oil industry fly their engineers into the oil rig and they work 12 hrs shifts for 2 weeks straight and then fly out for 1 off week before repeating. Investment bankers make tons of money but you should be used to eating dinner in your cubicle. I do schedule planning for my company and I know there are a lot of really painful work schedules being employed by various industry within the US. The point is those jobs are heavily compensated for how taxing the schedule is. They aren’t for everybody, and some people burn out after a couple of years and then go and find another job.

      Apple did a way with using toxic chemicals in their products and they are doing a lot about workers right. This is really bullshit how they get so much scrutiny in comparison to everybody else.

    • Harvey Lubin - 9 years ago

      Nick, I agree with you 100%.

      There is either an extraordinary lack of ethics demonstrated by Richard Bilton and the BBC, or an extremely naive understanding of what Apple Inc. does do and does not do.

      The “workers making the iPhone 6” in China are NOT employees of Apple Inc. They are employees of other companies (for example Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., a.k.a Foxconn Technology Group) that are contracted to assemble products NOT ONLY for Apple but for other large companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Blackberry, Dell, Motorola, Sony, etc. Apple Inc., like all of those other companies, does not own or manage the supplier companies, NOR do they have control over the Chinese government or the laws in that country.

      To call Apple, which is just one of the many large customers of those Chinese companies, responsible for working conditions is not only absurd but also dishonest.

      If anyone is responsible for working conditions in Chinese companies, it is obviously the owners/management of those Chinese companies and the Government of China. If Richard Bilton and the BBC wish to put a portion of the blame on the customers of those Chinese companies, then they should rightly include ALL of those customers… Not just singling Apple Inc., and disregarding the many other huge corporations that are also contracting assembly work at those same Chinese suppliers.

      And, if Richard Bilton and the BBC insist on assigning blame to the customers of those Chinese companies, then that blame should be extended to ALL customers that buy products that support poor working conditions in China. Almost everyone in the world buys such products, whether it is electronics products made by the Chinese companies contracted by Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Blackberry, Dell, Motorola, Sony, and many other companies, or clothing, shoes, and countless other categories of products that come from China.

      The BBC program also bizarrely puts the blame on Apple for “children working in some of the most dangerous mines in the world”, as if Apple alone owns and controls all of the mining companies in every country around the world, and that Apple is the only company in the world that uses metals from those mining operations.

      I have always believed that the BBC was a reputable broadcaster with high standards of journalistic integrity. But that belief is now gone, and I am concerned about what ulterior motives might be behind such an irrational and amoral BBC program.

    • giskardian - 9 years ago

      “Work culture in China is very different – people are happy – actively want to – work long hours.”

      That sounds suspciously close to the antebellum argument that African Slaves were happy and content with their place in society.

      As for why Apple is investigated, I’d guess it’s because they are the largest mobile device maker on the planet. But you’re right, the investigators should make it clear that all mobile devices made in China are produced by workers under similar conditions.

  2. Ray Wolf - 9 years ago

    Not defending Apple but I know from experience dealing with Asian suppliers how difficult it can be to ensure all regulations are followed.

  3. rogifan - 9 years ago

    Screw the BBC and their biased reporting. There is nothing fair and balanced about this investigation. The sole purpose is to make Apple look bad. Otherwise they would have included Samsung and other consumer electronics manufacturers in their investigation.

    • epicflyingcat - 9 years ago

      Media follows trends to get viewers. There’s been a lot of attention around Apple’s working conditions therefore the BBC reported on it because people want to know about it. There’s been nowhere near as much attention over Samsung and other tech companies’ working conditions.

    • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 9 years ago

      Nonsense. Just because others also abuse workers does not make it okay for Apple to do the same. Watch the doc, the evidence is damning, Apple exploit cheap Chinese labour and make gigantic profits which they hide away through incredibly aggressive tax evasion. They need to get their house in order.

  4. Derek Cheng - 9 years ago

    It’s true about the naps. I was in China and walked into a DMV and all the lights were on low. Workers had gathered their pillows, etc and had a nap. It was a bit frustrating as it was in the middle of the day. We basically had to wait till their nap was over before the place became operational again.

  5. Dafty Punk - 9 years ago

    These workers can quit right? I mean if the job sucks you can still walk away I hope. I mean they aren’t slaves….

  6. Marklewood at Serenity Lodge - 9 years ago

    I get so annoyed at alleged news sources who do not cover the whole unbiased report. Apple does not own these plants. They are part of a vast supply chain, which serves the whole cell phone, tablet,TV industry. Why don’t these reports point out that parts made at these plants go to many other companies, not just Apple. This is nothing short of sensationalizing grocery store tabloid material.

  7. “Apple’s promises to protect workers were routinely broken”

    Give me a break. What a load of crap. No promises were broken here. Apple continues to audit their supply chain as they said they would. However, Apple doesn’t own these companies, they can’t fire management, they don’t hire the workers, etc. And they can’t be in every factory all the time watching every employee to make sure they’re being treated fairly. That would be impossible.

    Furthermore, why is it up to Apple (and apparently Apple alone) to make sure these poor overworked people are treated fairly? Apple does not use up most of the world’s assembly lines or resources. In fact, Apple’s devices make up only small percentage of all devices manufactured around the world.

    I’d also like to add that people nap at work ALL THE TIME. I used to take a nap on my breaks. Hell, in most metropolitan areas you can find Nap Salons for people THAT WORK A LOT and want to rest during their break.

  8. Quan Nguyen - 9 years ago

    In the picture you see every single worker is napping. So it’s not about 1 guy who is overworked and is falling asleep on the job. It’s something built into their work routine. They are all napping at that moment in time – maybe it’s their break. Imagine if you are the floor manager and you see the whole floor napping when it’s not allowed, you would freak out. The fact that all those workers are napping simultaneously means it’s planned.

  9. Fallenjt JT - 9 years ago

    Unless BBC reporter is stupid not to know, it’s a common practice that there’s no working hour during lunch break in factory/company in Asia especially South East Asia. People have a choice to leave the work place to go home and take a nap or take it at the work place. I went to travel agencies in Vietnam around noon to change my flight tickets a few times and no place is open.

  10. Taste_of_Apple - 9 years ago

    Yup.

  11. The BBC’s position (the portion described by this article, at least) is hard to swallow at face value. For all I know there are real issues to be solved. But in this case the presentation of the data in written report is not sufficient to draw that conclusion. I hope the complete BBC report is more objective and fact-based; I look forward to reading that.

    Over 30 years of travel to Asia factories, I’ve seen first-hand evidence of shit-hole factories (both figuratively and literally) as well as shining stars. I am not employed by Pegatron or any other Asia factory or their representatives. But I’ve toured Pegatron (although I acknowledge not this particular site), Foxconn, Vtech, CCT, Compal, Quanta, Tatung and a host of others. By any standard, Pegatron stands towards the top of any list for positive working conditions, as do several of those others I mention.

    Furthermore, the objectivity of the written report here is called into question by the photo used above the caption “The undercover reporter filmed workers falling asleep on 12-hour shifts.” The implication of that statement is that workers are not allowed to rest sufficiently, and that those in the photo have all simultaneously fallen face-first into their work from exhaustion. But anyone with even minimal experience in Asia manufacturing knows that the photo is actually of workers during a scheduled break time, where they are invited to rest, even sleep if they wish. Or said another way — as a top-tier employers in Asia, Pegatron knows that their team members need rest, and they provide opportunity to do so.

    So if Asian factory practices need to change, I welcome that objective fact-gathering and reporting. But this doesn’t seem to be it.

  12. tincan2012 - 9 years ago

    Apple is a valuable brand, perhaps the most valuable, based on its technology as well as industry leadership. Although Pegatron, Foxconn and others make Apple products, they do not do so exclusively. Apple under Cook, have been increasingly open about problems and their attempts to address them, along with the owners of the factories. This is China after all – what Western corporation can can really ‘control’ the Chinese? So according to the BBC, Apple loses credibility because they are not 100% successful? At least they are trying, in contrast to the others. And in contrast to Samsung with their factories that continue to expose workers to leukemic risk and much worse working conditions. But I suppose Samsung – being such a huge advertiser in the UK – deserves a pass from the BBC? /s

    BBC went after Apple – because they want their cheap shot and gain attention. Just like the NY Times got journalism prizes using false sources like Mike Daisey. If you want to get your cheap shots in as a journalist, it seems you need to take a number.

    So the BBC should try to get branding as well. Perhaps in integrity and publishing truth. But not on this story.

  13. Harvey Lubin - 9 years ago

    There is either an extraordinary lack of ethics demonstrated by Richard Bilton and the BBC, or an extremely naive understanding of what Apple Inc. does do and does not do.

    The “workers making the iPhone 6” in China are NOT employees of Apple Inc. They are employees of other companies (for example Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., a.k.a Foxconn Technology Group) that are contracted to assemble products NOT ONLY for Apple but for other large companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Blackberry, Dell, Motorola, Sony, etc. Apple Inc., like all of those other companies, does not own or manage the supplier companies, NOR do they have control over the Chinese government or the laws in that country.

    To call Apple, which is just one of the many large customers of those Chinese companies, responsible for working conditions is not only absurd but also dishonest.

    If anyone is responsible for working conditions in Chinese companies, it is obviously the owners/management of those Chinese companies and the Government of China. If Richard Bilton and the BBC wish to put a portion of the blame on the customers of those Chinese companies, then they should rightly include ALL of those customers… Not just singling Apple Inc., and disregarding the many other huge corporations that are also contracting assembly work at those same Chinese suppliers.

    And, if Richard Bilton and the BBC insist on assigning blame to the customers of those Chinese companies, then that blame should be extended to ALL customers that buy products that support poor working conditions in China. Almost everyone in the world buys such products, whether it is electronics products made by the Chinese companies contracted by Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Blackberry, Dell, Motorola, Sony, and many other companies, or clothing, shoes, and countless other categories of products that come from China.

    The BBC program also bizarrely puts the blame on Apple for “children working in some of the most dangerous mines in the world”, as if Apple alone owns and controls all of the mining companies in every country around the world, and that Apple is the only company in the world that uses metals from those mining operations.

    I have always believed that the BBC was a reputable broadcaster with high standards of journalistic integrity. But that belief is now gone, and I am concerned about what ulterior motives might be behind such an irrational and amoral BBC program.

    • silas681- - 9 years ago

      Wrong. The programme clearly shows that APPLES promises about the supply chain that they use are being broken.

    • giskardian - 9 years ago

      Who else but customers are ultimately to blame? We are all to blame, “we” being all of us who buy products made in inhumane working conditions. It’s an ugly truth but change won’t come unless we accept it.

      Changes to US tax code and import/export regulations and tarriffs could easily start bringing production back to the US under better conditions, but the political will to do it doesn’t exist. Why? Because people would rather say “not my problem” and enjoy the cheaper products of shitty working conditions.

  14. I always say it’s not about companies, it’s about country. When government of those Asian countries doesn’t care companies are not that strong to change that. Yes, it will change in a few years when companies will be leaving China etc.

  15. silas681- - 9 years ago

    I am watching the programme right now……..maybe you should all watch it before passing judgement.

  16. silas681- - 9 years ago

    Case in point, the programme clearly shows workers falling asleep during production, with other workers on the same line still working, just to debunk the many comments above. The integrity of the bbc is renowned worldwide. This is NOT Fox news

    • tincan2012 - 9 years ago

      “This is NOT Fox news.”

      This is a wish, not a fact Silas. I hope you are clicking your heals while you are saying the words.
      BBC had a chance to take a different road. They took the Fox way.

  17. webzpinner - 9 years ago

    As long as I get an apple watch, wear my Nike shoes, and have a Ralph Lauren shirt, I don’t care about the conditions they were made in. America USED to work 80hr work weeks… Our society evolved… These places where they still work horrible hours are still emerging economies. I don’t feel sorry for them. They are making money.

  18. dafthunk - 9 years ago

    Some great posts in here calling out this BBC story.

    On a lighter note, the falling asleep thing can be seen everywhere in Asia. You’d be lucky to find a single awake person on most Asian subways or trains and yet they all manage to wake up for their stop! I was snowboarding in Japan and after lunch on the mountain, many Japanese would be face down in groups at their table having a nap. Quite an amusing site! Ok yes that photo above isn’t of people who are on holidays lol, but as other Asian work experienced posters have pointed out, it’s just what they do when on break which is what appears to be happening in that photo.

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Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.