Undercover video shows alleged worker rights violations at Apple supplier
Apple is once again in the crosshairs of a major media outlet over supposed worker rights abuse, this time with supplier Pegatron caught on undercover video questionable treatment of workers at an iPhone 6 factory.
In a hyped expos? aired Thursday night, BBC One reports multiple instances of what it refers to as "poor treatment" of workers on a Pegatron production line tasked with assembling Apple's latest iPhone 6 handset. The broadcast is the latest in a long line of reports concerning worker rights at factories in Apple's massive overseas supply chain, most of which saddle Apple with the blame for lacking proper oversight.
The BBC Panorama investigation put embeds with hidden cameras to work at Pegatron's iPhone factory, who quickly found inconsistencies with Apple's promised safeguards outlined in its Supplier Responsibility report (PDF download). Undercover reporters discovered numerous infractions, including illegal ID card confiscation, excessive working hours, poor living conditions and underage workers.
From the clips provided, it appears the most egregious breaches involve long working hours. According to Apple standards, overtime is voluntary for workers at its supplier factories, though BBC reporters found extra work was built in to their contracts.
"Every time I got back to the dormitories, I wouldn't want to move," said one reporter whose longest shift was 16 hours. "Even if I was hungry I wouldn't want to get up to eat. I just wanted to lie down and rest. I was unable to sleep at night because of the stress."
Supplier work-hour compliance according to Apple data.
For its part, Apple championed its ongoing response to labor issues in China, a country known for its dubious treatment of workers as seen through the lens of Westerners.
"We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions," Apple said in a statement. "We work with suppliers to address shortfalls, and we see continuous and significant improvement, but we know our work is never done."
Pegatron has been in the news before for allegedly breaking China's labor regulations. Last year, labor rights watchdog China Labor Group discovered wage and safety violations at multiple plants operated by the iPhone and iPad partner supplier. Like the BBC's investigation, CLW saw workweeks that often exceed Apple's specified 60-hour limit, as well as ID card confiscation.
"Worker safety and well-being are our top priorities. We set very high standards, conduct rigorous training for managers and workers, and have external auditors regularly visiting our facilities to find areas for improvement," a statement said.
Moving south, the BBC visited Bangka island in Indonesia to check on metal ore collectors who gather tin and other minerals to sell to smelters on Apple's list of suppliers. Children were seen digging out tin ore by hand under unsafe conditions that could potentially lead to deadly landslides.
In a Supplier Responsibility report earlier this year, Apple said it planned to crack down on conflict minerals, especially those sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by releasing a quarterly report (PDF download) listing supplier smelters.
Graphical plot of Apple's supply chain by region.
As AppleInsider reported in February, the electronics industry as a whole is responsible for over half of the world's tantalum consumption, but it is not a major consumer of tin, tungsten and gold. Without substantial buying power companies like Apple have little sway with smelters or collectors of those minerals.
"The simplest course of action would be for Apple to unilaterally refuse any tin from Indonesian mines. That would be easy for us to do and would certainly shield us from criticism," Apple said in regard to Bangka. "But that would also be the lazy and cowardly path, since it would do nothing to improve the situation. We have chosen to stay engaged and attempt to drive changes on the ground."
In a hyped expos? aired Thursday night, BBC One reports multiple instances of what it refers to as "poor treatment" of workers on a Pegatron production line tasked with assembling Apple's latest iPhone 6 handset. The broadcast is the latest in a long line of reports concerning worker rights at factories in Apple's massive overseas supply chain, most of which saddle Apple with the blame for lacking proper oversight.
The BBC Panorama investigation put embeds with hidden cameras to work at Pegatron's iPhone factory, who quickly found inconsistencies with Apple's promised safeguards outlined in its Supplier Responsibility report (PDF download). Undercover reporters discovered numerous infractions, including illegal ID card confiscation, excessive working hours, poor living conditions and underage workers.
From the clips provided, it appears the most egregious breaches involve long working hours. According to Apple standards, overtime is voluntary for workers at its supplier factories, though BBC reporters found extra work was built in to their contracts.
"Every time I got back to the dormitories, I wouldn't want to move," said one reporter whose longest shift was 16 hours. "Even if I was hungry I wouldn't want to get up to eat. I just wanted to lie down and rest. I was unable to sleep at night because of the stress."
Supplier work-hour compliance according to Apple data.
For its part, Apple championed its ongoing response to labor issues in China, a country known for its dubious treatment of workers as seen through the lens of Westerners.
"We are aware of no other company doing as much as Apple to ensure fair and safe working conditions," Apple said in a statement. "We work with suppliers to address shortfalls, and we see continuous and significant improvement, but we know our work is never done."
Pegatron has been in the news before for allegedly breaking China's labor regulations. Last year, labor rights watchdog China Labor Group discovered wage and safety violations at multiple plants operated by the iPhone and iPad partner supplier. Like the BBC's investigation, CLW saw workweeks that often exceed Apple's specified 60-hour limit, as well as ID card confiscation.
"Worker safety and well-being are our top priorities. We set very high standards, conduct rigorous training for managers and workers, and have external auditors regularly visiting our facilities to find areas for improvement," a statement said.
Moving south, the BBC visited Bangka island in Indonesia to check on metal ore collectors who gather tin and other minerals to sell to smelters on Apple's list of suppliers. Children were seen digging out tin ore by hand under unsafe conditions that could potentially lead to deadly landslides.
In a Supplier Responsibility report earlier this year, Apple said it planned to crack down on conflict minerals, especially those sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by releasing a quarterly report (PDF download) listing supplier smelters.
Graphical plot of Apple's supply chain by region.
As AppleInsider reported in February, the electronics industry as a whole is responsible for over half of the world's tantalum consumption, but it is not a major consumer of tin, tungsten and gold. Without substantial buying power companies like Apple have little sway with smelters or collectors of those minerals.
"The simplest course of action would be for Apple to unilaterally refuse any tin from Indonesian mines. That would be easy for us to do and would certainly shield us from criticism," Apple said in regard to Bangka. "But that would also be the lazy and cowardly path, since it would do nothing to improve the situation. We have chosen to stay engaged and attempt to drive changes on the ground."
Comments
I wonder if Apple could install cameras at the factory and have people back in California monitoring them 24/7 for violations.
The Baghdad Broadcasting Corporation is making a pathetic attempt to hold Apple responsible for what happens in foreign countries and with foreign suppliers and contractors. Things that Apple is not directly responsible for.
Apple obviously has strict guidelines for their suppliers to follow, and Apple does what it can do, but it can only do so much of course. Apple does not have the power to change foreign cultures and foreign companies.
And working 16 hours? Big deal. I've worked longer than that in the past. If that's the most serious issue, then this is not a big deal at all.
If anybody has any problems with worker treatment in China, then take it up with the Chinese government and Chinese companies. Don't waste other people's time with hypocritical, liberal nonsense.
Personally no company should be responsible for watching over another companies business practices. The problem is the way China handle this, you can complain to the government about companies who do not treat their employees right and the government does nothing about and everyone know it. So instead of going after a government who can careless they go after the companies who have more to loose. To make things worse the Chinese government caught on to this, they created labor laws and when they are told of this stuff they do not call the company violated the rules, they call the non-Chinese company using this company and tell them they need to fix the issue. It is just blackmail and forces the non-Chinese company to pay higher labor costs to make the problem go away.
You see this no where else in the world, You do not have US company auditing other US companies for labor violation our government deals with labor issue and leave the companies who use them out of the matter.
Although the BBC is not funded by advertisement, it is worth reminding everybody that they still have targets for their articles, shows and radio stations.
This is yet another sad attempt at grabbing numbers by targeting Apple.
Apple has done more than any other company to help with Chinese labour. They have gone far and beyond what they need to do.
Reading their articles over the past 3 years on their technology section has made it clear to me the BBC is very, very biased.
Particularly with their lead technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, who's articles are always anti-Apple and pro Android.
My dislike for the BBC only grows.
So Apple has no blame in this? Apple is the Obama of business.
Would your feelings still be the same if it was a company owned by the Koch Bros. - no need to answer, I already know.
I agree but I think a more accurate statement is it has the most mindshare, even though one could easily argue that mindshare is the true value a company holds (just look at Amazon's P/E). Even when it was just a fraction of it's current value and far below many companies that exist today (and some that don't) eyes were still on Apple to see what they were doing. And rightly so, as evident by their current market position.
My dislike for the BBC only grows.
The BBC belongs to a category of stations that ranks among the lowest in the world.
That category is tax payer funded TV stations that operate under a force pay license model. The BBC does not need advertising revenue, as everybody is forced to subscribe. It is politically biased, and everybody must fund it, even if they don't want to.
Imagine if everybody in the US were all of a sudden forced to pay over $200 a year to fund a state TV station, and you couldn't opt out of it! You have to subscribe to it for life, until you drop dead! Every year, they would steal money from your pocket.
The BBC license rate was about $228 last year. That is totally outrageous, and nobody should have a gun held to their head, forcing them to pay for biased content that they might not want at all.
The BBC is a joke, and has been a joke for a long time now.
Particularly with their lead technology correspondent,
Rory Cellan-Jones, who's articles are always anti-Apple and pro Android.
My dislike for the BBC only grows.
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Mazecookie is absolutely correct. For whatever reason the BBC technology editorial team are unable to provide objective coverage of Apple. The last 6 mo this have been particularly bad and urge everyone to search for the bbc complaints website and fill out an online complaint form if you feel that their coverage is not impartial and balanced.
Round two. Cue Mike Daisey. I really don’t think people are so stupid as to believe Apple is the only one with this problem (well, the retarded troll army does but that’s to be expected). You don’t have to be very smart to know that EVERYTHING is made in China these days.
Amazing what people will do to make an extra dollar. Apple are indeed rotten.
I couldn't agree more.
Its heyday was in the 70s and 80s, before its politicisation was complete, and when it actually made decent programmes.
Do you own a mobile phone or any other consumer electronic products? there's nothing more pathetic than all the liberal do-gooders complaining about evil corporations all the while typing on their MacBook Airs and texting on their iPhones. I wish people would put their money where their mouth is. If they think Apple is exploiting Chinese workers for profit then stop buying Apple products. Better yet, stop buying any gadgets manufactured in China. Of course if people did that these Chinese people would be even worse off as they'd have no jobs at all. But that's okay at least the liberal do-gooders would be able to sleep at night.
I couldn't agree more.
Its heyday was in the 70s and 80s, before it's politicisation was complete, and when it actually made decent programmes.
I enjoy watching certain UK programs, and the BBC has indeed produced many great things in the past. That doesn't excuse their extreme political bias of course.