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Forums _ News _ Apple Admits Using Child Labor: 15-Year-Olds Worked In Factories
Posted by: deadmellotron Mar 1 2010, 07:22 PM
The findings were outlined in a company report on audits of 102 supplier facilities conducted in 2009. That was a year in which questions about the practices of one of Apple's suppliers came into focus after the suicide of a Chinese worker who held a sensitive job handling iPhones.
Along with many other technology companies, Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., relies heavily on foreign contractors to build its products. Monitoring their labor practices be difficult, and Apple has caught heat in the past on this issue.
The company said in its latest report that "by making social responsibility a fundamental part of the way we do business, we insist that our suppliers take Apple's code as seriously as we do."
Apple said it found 17 "core" violations, the most serious type.
Those included three cases of underage workers being hired; eight instances of workers paying "recruitment" fees that were above the legal limits in those countries; three cases in which suppliers used non-certified vendors to dispose of hazardous waste; and three others in which the companies gave false records during the audits.
In the cases involving underage workers, Apple said three facilities had hired a total of 11 workers who were 15 years old in countries where the minimum employment age is 16. Apple noted that the workers were no longer underage or weren't working for the facilities anymore when the audits were undertaken.
Apple has been pressured before to answer questions about its suppliers' practices.
Last July, a 25-year-old Chinese worker whose job involved shipping iPhone prototypes to Apple killed himself by jumping from the 12th floor of his apartment building amid an investigation into a missing iPhone. The worker, Sun Danyong, worked for the Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese manufacturer that has long been one of Apple's key suppliers...
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/28/apple-child-labor-confess_n_479871.html
Posted by: Beenly Mar 1 2010, 07:39 PM
still lovin my itouch
Posted by: spambot Mar 1 2010, 07:47 PM
Poor Justin Long.
Posted by: Beenly Mar 1 2010, 07:48 PM
srsly tho, i knew it was coming.
Posted by: Uso Mar 1 2010, 09:06 PM
Lololol All our I-stuff are made by little teens ;D
Posted by: itanium Mar 1 2010, 09:08 PM
iAm glad to say that iDon't own any Apple products.
Posted by: Maccabee Mar 1 2010, 09:58 PM
Are they working by choice?
Posted by: Cristy Mar 1 2010, 10:29 PM
Is it bad that I don't think it's that big a deal? They're just one year underage; it's not as though Apple was using six-year-olds.
Posted by: Uso Mar 1 2010, 10:48 PM
Naw Cristy, I don't see it a big deal either, cause they prolly chose to do it and like you said, they are one year younger
Posted by: itanium Mar 1 2010, 11:01 PM
iMade a pun
Posted by: Uso Mar 1 2010, 11:06 PM
they can be i-Slave
Posted by: mipadi Mar 1 2010, 11:08 PM
So, did you read the article, or just the bullshit sensationalist headline? Because the headline is misleading. Some of Apple's suppliers (as well as suppliers for other electronics companies, including Foxconn) were using "child labor" (note that the employees were 15, and while I don't agree with child labor, it's not like they were 6 and working in factories). Apple did an internal audit, found that its suppliers were not complying with its policies, and forced the suppliers into compliance.
But hey, do whatever sells the most newspapers and gets people to read your posts.
Posted by: itanium Mar 1 2010, 11:12 PM
It's all about the ratings. Correct news is second priority.
Posted by: Maccabee Mar 2 2010, 12:07 PM
I would love to work for apple. Stupid child labor laws won't let me work before 16.
Posted by: Janette Mar 3 2010, 03:55 AM
Posted by: ArjunaCapulong Mar 3 2010, 07:09 PM
f*ck yeah my ipod