Images of dozens of Foxconn workers clustered on a rooftop and threatening to jump have apparently inspired Apple to join The Fair Labor Association and allow outside monitors into its suppliers’ factories. The FLA says Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the first technology company to join, and that its membership means that the iPhone maker commits to uphold the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct. We found that Apple takes supplier responsibility seriously and we look forward to their participation in the Fair Labor Association,” said Auret van Heerden, FLA’s President and CEO. The FLA will independently assess facilities in Apple’s supply chain and report detailed findings on the FLA website.
Photo: Club.china.com
Earlier this month, around 150 workers at a Foxconn factory in Wuhan, China reportedly spent two days on the roof and threatened to jump if Foxconn proceeded with plans to relocate them to a new production line. The workers were part of the assembly line that produces the Xbox 360. Foxconn, the world’s largest manufacturer of electronics, also produces parts for the iPhone.
In addition to joining FLA, Apple has released complete list of its suppliers. Monitors from the Fair Labor Association routinely show up unannounced at roughly 5% of each member’s suppliers each year.
In 2010, 14 Foxconn workers died after jumping off a roof at a factory in Longhua, China where between 300,000 and 400,000 employees work, eat, and sleep.
In Wuhan, the site of the latest suicide threat, Foxconn reportedly reassigned workers to an assembly line that makes computer cases for Taiwan’s Acer. One anonymous worker described a dust-filled factory with an assembly line that ran so fast that workers’ hands were blistered and black within less than a day.
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