Apple Took Three Years to Cut Ties With Supplier That Used Underage Labor (theinformation.com) 40
An anonymous reader shares a report [the story is behind a paywall; alternative source]: Seven years ago, Apple made a staggering discovery: Among the employees at a factory in China that made most of the computer ports used in its MacBooks were two 15-year-olds. Apple told the manufacturer, Suyin Electronics, that it wouldn't get any new business until it improved employee screening to ensure no more people under 16 years of age got hired. Suyin pledged to do so, but an audit by Apple three months later found three more underage workers, including a 14-year-old. Apple, which has promised to ban suppliers that repeatedly use underage workers, stopped giving Suyin new business because of the violations. But it took Apple more than three years to fully cut its ties with Suyin, which continued to make HDMI, USB and other ports for older MacBooks under previous contracts. A person close to Suyin, which is headquartered in Taiwan, said that the company hadn't intentionally hired underage workers and that it had passed Apple's audits in later years.
Apple no longer does business with Suyin. But the previously unreported episode, drawn from documents reviewed by The Information and interviews with people who have direct knowledge of Apple's dealings with Suyin, is a stark example of the dilemmas Apple faces in fulfilling its pledges to put workers first and not use manufacturers that consistently violate labor laws. And it demonstrates the fine line Apple has to walk in balancing the need to maximize profits with the expectation that it will prioritize good working conditions for its own employees and its suppliers'. [...] In interviews, 10 former members of Apple's supplier responsibility team -- the unit in charge of monitoring manufacturing partners for violations of labor, environmental and safety rules -- claimed that Apple avoided or delayed cutting ties with offenders when doing so would hurt its business. For example, the former team members said, Apple continued working with some suppliers that refused to implement safety suggestions or that consistently violated labor laws.
Apple no longer does business with Suyin. But the previously unreported episode, drawn from documents reviewed by The Information and interviews with people who have direct knowledge of Apple's dealings with Suyin, is a stark example of the dilemmas Apple faces in fulfilling its pledges to put workers first and not use manufacturers that consistently violate labor laws. And it demonstrates the fine line Apple has to walk in balancing the need to maximize profits with the expectation that it will prioritize good working conditions for its own employees and its suppliers'. [...] In interviews, 10 former members of Apple's supplier responsibility team -- the unit in charge of monitoring manufacturing partners for violations of labor, environmental and safety rules -- claimed that Apple avoided or delayed cutting ties with offenders when doing so would hurt its business. For example, the former team members said, Apple continued working with some suppliers that refused to implement safety suggestions or that consistently violated labor laws.
Standard economic theory is being applied (Score:1)
*What the market will bear. Just a variation of the riot index [ssrn.com].
But IDF is the most ethical armed force! (Score:2)
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That's why I buy Samsung - corruption, bribery, child labour, forced labour, fake reviews, industrial espionage, it's all good. Not like that nasty Apple....
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It's not about justice, but about the injustices you can still sleep on at night.
But why were those kids working? Is it necessary to support and feed their family? So is it possible that family lost a meal or two over this ethical superiority mentality?
i mean.... (Score:1)
if they were forced that changes everything but if not let the kids work!
Re:i mean.... (Score:4, Informative)
I had a job at 14.... if the kids made the choice on their own and werent forced (slavery) whats the problem?
They are sorta forced. In China, students do industrial or agricultural internships. They don't really have a choice.
But there are several problems with this situation. It is odd for kids to be doing internships as young as 14, and it is a violation of Chinese law. The minimum age for interns is 16, with exceptions for family businesses and special situations such as child actors.
Also, Apple promised to clean up and audit their supply chains. So they are breaking their own promise.
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Re: i mean.... (Score:2)
In the past, Apple has recorded cases, and the companies have in their contract that they have to pay for the kids to go back to school, so itâ(TM)s not a money maker
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Except for shitposting anonymously, of course. While hating your boss, and your life, and the working conditions capitalism has forced on you, but wanting soooo badly for "those city dwelling commie bastards" to be wrong that you'll suck up that shit and smile. Yeah, it's all the fault of those commies. Capitalism is perfect, but we hate those "coastal elites" of course! And Bill Gates. And George Soros, who made all his money being an ultra-capitalist fund manager. But Yeah! Capitalism is perfect and some
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Cool story bro. Did your job have you working 12 hour shifts in a factory? You think these kids stop by the Apple Widget factory after school to make a few bucks?
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Did your job have you working 12 hour shifts in a factory?
TFA did not say that any of these kids were working long hours.
Under Chinese law, it is illegal for students to work overtime.
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Then again, it's also illegal for them to hire people under 16 years old, but that happened.
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no it didnt
if that is the case clarly i agree its wrong and said as much
Sometimes people have to work (Score:3)
My wife left home and went to work as a nanny at age 14. So did one of my aunts. Sometimes people live in places where they have to work to eat, like it or not. So yeah, I have a really mixed set of reactions to cases like this because the issue is a lot more nuanced than a lot of pampered activists want to make it out to be.
No, I don't use Apple products.
Re: Sometimes people have to work (Score:2)
But it's still more likely that Apple is aware of what's going on and simply choosing to turn a blind eye in order to maintain a cheap supply chain.
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What was the transition like when candles went from tallow to parafin?
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Sometimes people live in places where they have to work to eat, like it or not.
Child labor is a vicious cycle. Kids are pulled out of school to work, and never get the education and training to make a decent living. So they put their own kids to work early.
An obvious solution is to break the cycle by banning child labor and truancy.
Employing workers under 16 years old is illegal in China.
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The legal definition of what constitutes a child is often at odds with common sense though.
Finland is often presented as a shining example of education, yet you can be done with compulsory education at 15 and start your "child" labour. I think they really are an example and most of the west has taken compulsory education a few years too far.
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I appreciate your candour, but only you may need them to survive, but they don't actually need you for them to survive. They make enough money to hire adults and to feed children if they wanted to. If they did they would even market it as PR and try to profit from it. Only they chose not to and so they leave young people thinking they had to work in order to survive, and this what's so bad about it.
Apple's net income for this year is about $57 billion. You tell me how many kids one could feed in a year usin
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Spoken like someone who doesn't understand poverty and homelessness. If the parents can't bring in enough money to house, clothe and feed everyone do the kids go to work or do they make a collective decision to live on the street? Or do the parents put the kids into potentially abusive social services care, never to see them again?
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Spoken like someone ...
Oh shut up. They topic is Apple and them using child labour. Exercise your pathetic drama somewhere else.
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The summary mentioned five workers who were underage. How many total workers are there? If it is a handful of younger people passing themselves off as being old enough to work then the situation is being blown out of proportion. Are a large number of the remaining works also underage. Is this being done intentionally by the company or the worker?
Buy the Suppliers (Score:2)
If Apple really wants control, then they should buy their suppliers. Otherwise there will always be problems like this. If you want to avoid child/slave/prison labor, and you have suppliers in a country known for such practices, you have to expect to have problems. Of course, any good supply chain management program will have alternate sources for every critical part, preferably in different countries, but the alternate suppliers are just as likely to have the same violations.
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Open Secret (Score:2)
Everyone paying attention knows that apple and other companies profit from labor abuses. Be it underage, poorly paid, unpaid, coerced or forced labor. Happens everywhere, though in some places more than others. Many peoples lifestyles are supported by the abuse of people with little to no other options.
Re: Open Secret (Score:2)
Apple took 3 years (Score:2)
FTFY.
They just waited until they grew up (Score:3)
I started at 14 too (Score:2)
I started working (as a computer technician) at that age too. USSR law explicitly allowed it — with the work-week being 32 hours for youth 14-16 old.
When I turned 16, the work-week expanded (to 36 hours), and I had to work longer for the same pay. (I didn't stay there 'till 18 — when the work-week would've become 40 hours.)
This personal tidbit is here to show, that there is nothing automatically wrong with 14 year-olds joining the workforce — I got to work with compu
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100% agree. My grandmother joined the work force at 15, dropped out of high school to help support her family after her father died. It was a necessity for the family to survive. I suspect may have worked under similar circumstances; it must happen elsewhere.
The irony here is the US, while claiming to be a high and mighty tolerable and PC society, is actually intolerant of other cultures where this is apparently acceptable. Yet those kids may have had food taken out of their mouths as a result of this.
Staggering discovery? (Score:2)
Even in some developed western countries 15 year olds are allowed to work full time.
It doesn't take a whole lot to stagger some people I guess.
Put those little bastards to work (Score:2)
The Victorian England fantasy about children innocently frolicking in the world until they're adults is just that: a fantasy, at least for the vast majority of people. School and childhood are, for many people, a waste of time.
Put those little bastards to work so they can learn something real.
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"Learn to code" lol
Unemployed kids (Score:2)
Three years later ... (Score:2)