Last February, Apple CEO Tim Cook asked the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate working conditions at Foxconn, Apple’s primary manufacturer. This request followed a series of worker suicides in 2010, with speculation that they were in protest of dismal working conditions. For more details about those conditions, click here. The FLA was happy to report that the electronics giant “had made significant improvements”, but they still found “at least 50 violations of local regulations at Foxconn plants in Chengdu, Guanlan and Longhua”.

Safety nets were installed at the Foxconn plant to prevent suicide.

This story poses difficult ethical questions concerning Apple’s business practices. Many would argue that 76-hour working weeks without full overtime pay is unacceptable, regardless of any other factors. However, an important question to ask is, would these people have a job if they didn’t work at Foxconn? The company employs about one-million people in China, a country where good work can be extremely difficult to find. Cutting hours means hiring more people, meaning existing workers will lose income (even if they don’t receive full overtime pay). It’s a difficult situation; it’s impossible to be sure which action will truly benefit the workers and improve their overall quality of life.

What do you think?

Check out the full article here.