Apple, cops and accused of working conditions in China

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Apple, cops and accused of working conditions in China

All was well for Apple since the beginning of the year until the release Friday, January 27, in the New York Times , a lengthy investigation that exposes the working conditions of subcontractors in China. Their “indifference to the health of workers” is described as “worrying” , while section lists the overtime, dormitories, employees who are not yet old enough to work , the “legs swell up that they can barely walk “.

While at the same time Apple is riding the good news of its financial results, these accusations, published the same day, make it the effect of a cold shower. “Apple never cared for anything other than ‘ increase the quality of its products and reduce production costs ” , said Li Mingqi, a former factory Foxconn, one of the main partners of Apple.

Angry, Tim Cook , Apple‘s new boss, illico send an email to its employees or 45,000 employees worldwide, including some in China: “We care about our workers around the world (…). Any attempt to say that we do not care it is openly false and insulting. ” He had just before, they send a letter much more pleasing, offering a new program of discounts on Apple products. In this case, reductions of $ 500 on computers and $ 250 on the iPad for any employee for over 90 days. A program that, if justified by a net profit more than doubled in the last quarter 2011 to reach $ 13.1 billion, seems inappropriate in light of the revelations of the New York Times .

STRATEGY HYPOCRITE?

During the day, Apple has once again surpassed ExxonMobil to first place in global market capitalization to return at the close, to 416.4 billion dollars (against 418 for Exxon), with an action to 446 dollars.

But the Cupertino, thanks to its unparalleled marketing expertise, has taken matters in hand so as not to disturb his image “cool and creative.” Tim Cook can now boast of having , in fact, the commitments from an independent defense work, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), based in Washington, joined Apple in January. “The first visit factory should be held in the second or third quarter, ” says the FLA.

In addition, Apple was adorned with a code of conduct published on its website and claims to inspections since 2007, as well as planned surprise. In 2011, it would have led 229, against 127 in 2010 and 109 in 2009. In case of breach of code of conduct, the provider has thirty days to take , or Apple “ends the business relationship” , provides the latest report.

Disingenuous strategy of the firm to approach the apple or sincere? “It’s a smart move on their part , said Pauline Overeem , which coordinates the international network Good Electronics (notably responsible for the campaign “Make IT Fair”). One wonders if it will just change things or if it’s a marketing stunt. ”

The image of Apple is at stake, beyond profits. Moreover, Apple, long closed to the issue, trying to portray a pioneer, “the first in the electronics industry” to join the FLA. But according to Pauline Overeem, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Phillips have complied with a similar initiative in the Netherlands, the Initiative for Sustainable Trade (HDI), while Apple “has always refused before responding to NGOs ” .

17 SUICIDES IN THE EMPIRE FOXCONN

The organization of Chinese students Sacom published a study in September . At Foxconn, giant workshop employs almost one million workers over several sites, scandal after another. In 2010, after the suicide of nine workers, a reporter from the magazine Wired observing the influence of a true “nation state” on the assembly line workers housed in dormitories.

Even in China, the reactions abound in the direction of the article in the New York Times , translated into Chinese by the magazine Caixin . “When local governments are trying to attract new investment to their region, they are still below pre- wages that have progress. It’s pathetic! ” exclaims Jiangsu.

And if conditions improve in some sub-contractors, may fear “a continuous movement of firms where wages are low, to the west of China and Vietnam” , said Pauline Overeem, all being provided by the absence of real unions. The solution found by Foxconn favors an alternative to the improvement of working conditions: in the summer of 2011, the company has announced to prepare a plan of automation giant, in order to replace , by 2013, 500 000 employed by robots.

apple factory plan (1)