With the new iPhone6 and Apple Watch be pushed out, the factories that Apple used to produce products were censured again by Green American(A nonprofit environmental protection organization) and China Labor Watch(A labor rights protection organization). According to The New York Time, after a secret investigation to a factory in JiangSu province, the investigator in China labor Watch said that the working environment in the factory is extremely dangerous: the fire exit has been locked; the floor and air is full of the powder of Aluminum – magnesium alloy, which might lead to an explosion easily. Another issue is that labors are required to work extra hours, which is around 100 hours a month. What is worse, they also are exposed to chemical element without appropriate protection.
The press man of Apple company, Chris Gaither claim that Apple already sent a investigating group to the factory to deal with the security and mistreatment problems. This is not the first time that the supplement chain of Apple is in the grip of labor problem, In order to prevent the irregularities, Apple make a strict code of conduct to their supplier, and audit them in a regular time. Although there are still some problems to the factories, the behavior of Apple Company is based on the business ethic. It takes the responsibility to protect staff and labors.
This was a very insightful and somewhat relatable blog post, that shows the negative sides (that many people who buy Apple products do not see). The idea of harsh labor conditions seems to happen more in places of low labor cost, such as Cambodia; it’s sad to see how workers are getting low salaries plus long hours of work in harsh working conditions.
Apply Company can be seen as taking more responsibility on protecting their staff and their labors, through auditing its suppliers, but this can just be the surface. Meaning this is an act to show its consumers and the public to think that they are taking responsibility; since as many people know that there are low labor costs in China and other countries as well, which cuts perhaps a significant amount of cost for big companies such as Apple.