FLA

Seven 'FLA' stories February 2012 - May 2012

Foxconn workers, activists claim no change at Apple plants following FLA audits

Jordan Kahn May 31 2012 - 6:37 am PT

We reported earlier this month that Foxconn announced it would share the initial costs of improving iPhone and iPad assembly plants with Apple following an agreement to improve working conditions based on recommendations from the Fair Labor Association. Today, according to a report from Reuters, labor watchdog Student & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour released a report claiming Foxconn factories have not changed much since the FLA’s audits:

A fresh report released on Thursday by labor watchdog Student & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM), based on visits to several Foxconn factories and 170 worker interviews, found rights violations “remain the norm” including high production targets, inhumane treatment and signs of overall salary cuts.

“The frontline management continue to impose humiliating disciplinary measures on workers,” it said.

“The above findings demonstrate that Apple and Foxconn have not turned over a new leaf,” the report added.

Even after recently raising wages of some workers by 16 to 25 percent, Reuters’ report claimed average overall salaries decreased and some “had to work unpaid overtime after pay hikes.” A Foxconn worker in Guanlan told Reuters: “The work pressure is still great… There hasn’t been much change. We are still being pushed very hard.”

Foxconn responded to the SACOM report in a statement to Reuters:

“The welfare of our employees is without a doubt our top priority and we are working hard to give our more than one million employees in China a safe and positive working environment,”

Fair Labor Association publishes findings of Apple/Foxconn Investigation (9to5mac.com)

FLA president says Apple/Foxconn agreement raises bar, but will it raise prices?

Jordan Kahn Mar 30 2012 - 7:32 am PT

0 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E5odytJoYmo#!]

The results of the Fair Labor Association’s investigation into Apple’s suppliers beginning with three Foxconn facilities officially published yesterday. While finding excessive working hours and many violations of Chinese labor law, Foxconn and Apple agreed to reduce workweek and overtime hours within Chinese law to 49 hours per week and 36 overtime hours per month based on the FLA’s recommendations. Foxconn will also hire tens of thousands of new employees and implement a compensation package to make sure workers’ salaries remain the same amid reduced working hours.

In the interview above with Reuters, head of the FLA Auret van Heerden talked about the investigation and noted the agreement could set a new standard for working conditions throughout China. One unanswered question is whether the agreement will lead to higher prices for consumers (which is not necessarily a bad thing)…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Fair Labor Association publishes findings of Apple/Foxconn Investigation

Jordan Kahn Mar 29 2012 - 1:07 pm PT

1 Comment

We knew the Fair Labor Association would publish the initial findings of its investigation into Apple’s Foxconn facilities, and now the report is officially available through the organization’s website. The full report released today and is here. The press release outlining the investigation is below. According to the recommendations, Foxconn committed to “bring its factories into full compliance with Chinese legal limits and FLA standards on working hours by July 2013.”

The last we heard from the FLA about its audits into Apple’s Foxconn facilities was that it found “tons of issues.” Apple became the first technology company accepted as a member into the organization after controversies surrounding working conditions in Apple’s supply chains abroad became mainstream. As for what the FLA found in its audits of the three Foxconn facilities, here is an excerpt from the report:

FLA’s investigation found that within the last 12 months, all three factories exceeded both the FLA Code standard of 60 hours per week (regular plus overtime) and the Chinese legal limits of 40 hours per week and 36 hours maximum overtime per month. During peak production periods, the average number of hours worked per week exceeded 60 hours per worker. There were periods in which some employees worked more than seven days in a row without the required 24 hours off.

The FLA said Foxconn’s commitment will “reduce working hours to legal limits while protecting pay, improve health and safety conditions, establish a genuine voice for workers, and will monitor on an ongoing basis to verify compliance.” This will lead to a maximum 49-hour workweek, including overtime for employees and a decrease in monthly overtime from 80 hours to 36 hours. While we reported some workers were unhappy with working fewer hours, Foxconn also committed to a compensation package for workers with reduced overtime:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Foxconn hiring lifestyle and safety experts to improve worker conditions at Apple factories

Jordan Kahn Mar 13 2012 - 8:45 am PT

0 Comments

A report from Bloomberg today confirmed Foxconn is interested in hiring new safety and security experts to help improve working conditions in facilities responsible for supplying Apple products. Foxconn’s retail division chairman Louis Woo confirmed the job listings, which include a “lifestyle manager” responsible for maintaining worker dorms and healthcare, a safety and security expert, and two fire chiefs:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Foxconn reportedly hid teenage workers from inspectors, Daisey’s monologue available as royalty-free download

9to5 Staff Feb 22 2012 - 11:15 am PT

0 Comments

As the Fair Labor Association inspectors interview Foxconn employees about working conditions at iPad plants, early reports coming our way are a bit ambiguous and a tad confusing. First FLA president told Reuters that plant floors are spotless, then Bloomberg published an article claiming the organization found “tons of issues,” and finally those two video teasers (here and here) from ABC Nightline’s ‘iFactory’ documentary added ambiguity as the producers apparently “didn’t find any egregious violations.”

Knowing ABC’s parent company Disney has the Steve Jobs Trust as its largest shareholder, and considering that FLA is funded by the biggest players in the industry, including Apple who commissioned the Foxconn inspection that began last week, some watchers are speculating there must be more to this than meets the eye. Read on…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Pegatron: Apple hasn’t informed us about forthcoming labor audits

9to5 Staff Feb 14 2012 - 4:50 am PT

0 Comments

Apple’s contract manufacturer Pegatron Technology of Taiwan is unaware of any forthcoming labor inspections at its Asian plants because its client has not officially tipped them about labor audits, according to Chief Financial Officer Charles Lin tells to Bloomberg. Lin was reacting to yesterday’s announcement by Apple of California that the first audits in cooperation with the Fair Labor Association have started at Foxconn City in Shenzhen, China.

Pegatron Corp., a maker of Apple Inc.’s iPhones, said it hasn’t been informed of any pending inspections of factory work conditions by labor groups, a day after the U.S. company said checks would start this spring. Pegatron is aware of Apple’s corporate social responsibility policies, Charles Lin, chief financial officer of the Taipei-based company, said by telephone today. The client hasn’t informed him about any upcoming audits, Lin said.

Apple previously confirmed that audits at Pegatron and Quanta Computer, the company assembling Mac notebooks, are due this spring. The company said the results of FLA audits will be made available on its website at the end of March. In the wake of the Foxconn scandal, a month ago Apple became the first technology company admitted to the FLA. That announcement followed Apple’s release of 2012 Supplier Responsibility Report that for the first time named 156 companies currently supplying components for Apple products, which left only three percent of suppliers absent from the list.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Fair Labor Association begins audits of Apple suppliers at Foxconn City

Jordan Kahn Feb 13 2012 - 6:18 am PT

0 Comments

Following the release of Apple’s “2012 Supplier Responsibility Report,” Apple announced it would be the first technology company admitted to the Fair Labor Association. The FLA will “independently assess facilities in Apple’s supply chain,” and then publish its independent findings online. Apple announced through a press release today that the first audits have officially started with FLA President Auret van Heerden and his team beginning inspections at Foxconn City in Shenzhen. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the audits are “unprecedented in the electronics industry”:
Expand
Expanding
Close

FLA

Related articles