Another Apple supplier has been found to be in violation of Chinese labor laws, as well as standards set out by Apple and other companies. Catcher Technology's factory in Suqian, China, has been found to have discrimanatory hiring practices, substandard worker safety training, and little protection against toxic chemicals, among other violations. It seems that little action has been taken to get them to conform to the standards of Apple and other suppliers.
According to Green America:
Unfortunately, after the inspections are complete and the corrective action plans are handed down to factories from Apple, there are often no fundamental improvements in labor conditions and treatment of workers making Apple products. This report documents the lack of progress in a factory manufacturing components for Apple products, despite clear evidence of persistent violations of Chinese law and the Codes of Conduct of both Apple and its suppliers.
What do you think Apple should do about suppliers like Catcher Technology? Sound off below in the comments.
Source: Green America
Reader comments
Apple supplier found to be in violation of several hiring and safety standards
Apple should make sure that their suppliers respect their employees even if it cost them a little profit. I love apple product but would love it if I could be proud of their manufacturing process. Including their energy sources how they treat their employees and if they didn't use any bad materials/chemicals.
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It's a rock and a hard place.. Apple's influence only comes in the form of money.. They literally cannot force the supplier company to change.. In-fact.. the irony is, China Gov't by law has a majority stake, like 51%, of all businesses in China.. or something a long those lines.. It's been a decade or longer since collage and did a research report on China and Business.
In any case, Apple bossing the China Gov't to enforce laws just isn't going to happen.. and no large tech company can do anything but threaten to leave.. and well, THATS not going to happen..
The social and political climate in China is just so foreign to 'outsiders' it's easy to forget how little control we westerners have over the situation there.. easy to complain and point fingers though...
In a final irony, the conditions at Apple's competitor's supplier plants(Samsung, HTC, LG, Nokia, etc) are likely far worse ... Make no mistake, all smartphone makers use China suppliers... Quite likely even share suppliers.
CAN / Should Apple continue to push their suppliers to do better.. Heck yea, by paying more for parts to cover better conditions, by continuing to insist on better conditions, raising wages, etc. It won't happen right away; but like a constantly 'yapping' small dog.. you keep barking ... eventually someone will pay attention, question is will they get petted or get smacked.. heh
Rock and hard place...
"Apple's influence only comes in the form of movey. They literally cannot force the supplier company to change".
Of course they cannot force the supplier company to change! But they can change suppliers. And they don't because they are in it above all to make lots and lots of profit at the lowest cost possible. Would you be prepared to buy an Apple product for 2 or 3 times its current price?
Don't blame it on the Chinese crap labour laws but on ourselves who buy their stuff cheap and then bury our heads in the sand...
I know that these people are being 'abused' by their employer but it is not Apple telling the employer what to do it is the company that is choosing to abuse their employee's.
If I contract a business to, for example, mow my drought-stricken dead lawn, I cannot demand that they pay their illegal immigrant workers a particular wage or demand that they don't force their staff to work in the rain or get breaks. I just pay for the service and that is where my obligation ends. Sure I know that he's paying them day-rate and making them work their backsides off but I, as their customer, have no right to dictate working conditions that their workers operate under and neither does Apple.
When will people realize that these abuses have gone on for many years in the 2nd and 3rd world and having someone going in and grading them is never going to change it. All that happened was that the company got caught out and they will be 'good' for a while and then will go back to the same old practices.
I worked for a company in Britain, yes the UK, where they abused the workers. They forced them to do unsafe practices, use chemicals that were banned but as soon as they got a letter from a Health and Safety they would clean everything up and all the toxic and cancer causing chemicals would vanish. Respirators and safety glasses would appear, steel mesh inner gloves were supplied for those dealing with blades and staff were forced to go on breaks until after the visit and then 24 hours later it was back to business as usual.
It is up the Chinese and other Foreign Governments to police businesses operating in their country. I can bet that work being done by this particular company for other brands has the same sort of abuses against their employees.
To quote Rhett Butler "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn"!