Fair Labor Association Says Apple Factories Are ''First Class''

[wiyosaya]

Moments before this announcement, a mysterious $1M deposit was noted in the Fair Labor Association's bank account.

Seriously, it would be interesting to find out just what companies and people make up the "Fair Labor Association." One of the "members" is, you guessed it, crApple.

 

[f-14]

comparing an assembly plant to where the suicides and lethal poisonings are are not happening, which is actually the manufacturing floors is like inspecting the national guards home base in america instead of the front line in afganistan. and saying" well it's better here then in bagdad iraq"

and to top it off the inspectors are not OSHA trained and in china everyone has a price, and it is usually pretty low, so they can be bought pretty easily as well as tipped off about inspectors coming, much like the U.N. nuclear inspectors in Iran have been being dealt with for the last 2 decades.

 

[silentbobdc]

From the FAQ on the Fair Labor Association webpage:

How is the FLA funded?
Funding comes from the Participating Companies, colleges and universities and their licensees, and grants.

We all know how organizations love to bite the hands that feed them. In research you always look for sources of bias, especially when it comes to funding. We all know how good the research that big tobacco funded was...

 

[ukee1593]

To be honest the Fair Labour Association is most likely dead right: The working conditions at Foxconn and other Apple suppliers (Foxconn, Pegatron) are "way, way above average". It just means that all the other factories in China (that make light bulbs, childrens' toys, toasters, etc) have extremely terrible working conditions.

That being said, compare any Chinese factory to similar factories around the world -- you can be sure that the working conditions are much better in countries like Japan, Germany, and the US.

 

[freeinterweb]

Im bored
gonna go kill my self......

gonna be interesting to see what the fully report is
"I CANT BELIEVE I GOT FREE NEW IPADS!"

 

[internetlad]

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

 

[shin0bi272]

first class huh?? I'm sure there's a bunch of Chinese working for 51 cents an hour that would take issue with that claim.

 

[Vorador2]

Why i am not surprised. If someone actually requests an FLA inspection is because they're ready for them.

FLA should make a surprise inspection in the same factories in a few months. It's likely thing will turn out differently.

 

[leeashton]

the new car sir killed 60 people last month, "well thats better than other cars" then only killed 40 last month WTF!
garment factories are shit so apple is shit -1

 

[alyoshka]

Why ain't I surprised?

 

[Raidur]

The inspectors are coming!

Quick, bring out the chocolate pudding and send the "gag or death" orders!

Do our bi-yearly cleaning and close up the living quarters!

 

[Raidur]

WTF are they using Ipads for?

 

[billybobser]

Lol, wandering around with iPads, could the corporate bribery be any more blatant.

Why don't they rename the FLA to Apple Marketing

 

[shrapnel_indie]

[citation][nom]Shin-san[/nom]Not knocking you or anything, but I've been in a few companies where they refer to you as a "resource"[/citation]

That's almost ANY large company now days.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Interesting Comments here. FLA is NOT OSHA. True. FLA may adjust how they see things due to not wanting to lose any funding... Possibly true, as there is historical evidence of studies being biased one way or another depending on who was funding the study. As far as we all know, the FLA is the corporate sponsored version of OSHA, but with a pro-biz angle.

Okay. So Foxconn was heads above everything else in china, factory wise.

Now this part is based off the assumption FLA inspectors were not China-grown. Since China controls businesses, and China knew the moment these FLA people got off the plane and through customs and then knew their business intents. Foxconn could have time to cover up the worst of itself.

Now, this part is based off the assumption FLA inspectors were China-grown AND assuming Chinese government input. As Chinese citizens NOT wanting to get in trouble with their government, they would spin it as how good it was.

Now, Relatively speaking, IF Foxconn is the cream of the crop in fair labor in China (and admittedly in their statement, textiles are not even near that) They have room for improvement, lots of it when compared to a more "first-world country" standard. Hey, just because I go into the worst part of a city, and note how one place is better than the rest of the area, doesn't necessarily mean that that place is on-par with the better parts. it STILL could be sub-par in the larger view.

 

[silentbobdc]

I always like the quote: "When you pay the fiddler, you call the tune". Looks like we're seeing that in practice here again.

 

[jungleboogiemonster]

Let the FLA employees work at Foxconn for a year and see if their opinions change.

 

[Star72]

Yeah I've worked in a number of factories & most visits are planned & therefore give that facility time to prepare, which they all do.

"Apple announced that it had requested that the Fair Labor Association inspect its suppliers' factories in Asia."

Yeah, they were ready for sure. I'm not saying that their factory is terrible because I haven't seen it but c'mon, give them a surprise visit & see what changes.

 

[NuclearShadow]

I think Jane forgot to mention all of the quotes taken of the praises involved a gun being pressed onto the persons skull.

the FLA system is "very tough" and involves unannounced visits, complete access, as well as public reporting

Complete access means that all companies involved would have to know to some degree. It isn't like this group can randomly go anywhere they please and demand a on the spot tour of the facilities.
While a specific date may not have been given they are certainly aware it is coming eventually and likely have a timeline to expect such.

This would make it much easier to make things appear better than what they really are on a normal day to day basis. Providing better meals (as people live and work at Foxconn) less or no forced overtime, and making sure the inspectors are likely to be exposed to workers that are willing to say anything Foxconn wants them to and avoid anything else. No assaults done by "security" (more like corporate thugs) on the workers during this period of time.

Decent meals, and no daily beatings both for a little while? Sounds like a decent motivation to me as not cooperating means punishment. Also note it seems that their overcrowded living quarters was not even brought up. Oh yeah I believe this investigation as much as I believe in vampires and Half-life 2 EP:3. (Please don't stone me to death for the last one)

 

[happyballz]

"Foxconn: where working conditions are so good you want to kill yourself!"

 

[blazorthon]

I have to question this... We are given no information to back up these claims, just assurance from a group that is partially funded by the companies they are *investigating* that the work places are above average in the area. Even if they are, what does that say about the rest of the area? What does it say about Foxconn and Apple, that they were willing to settle for above average, instead of going the full yard here? I'm willing to bet that if they tried the crap they do in these sorts of countries in other countries like the USA that they'd be in deep trouble, unless they can bribe the local authorities.

Of course, that's the whole point of moving to countries like China... It's difficult to abuse workers like this in better-off countries and that's the reason for them moving to China. Now they can abuse the workers there. When they tell me the opposite is true when that was the whole point of moving their factories there, do they honestly think I'm stupid enough to believe their lies? Tell me Foxconn, why are your factories in China instead of the USA, Germany, or Japan? If not to exploit your workers and similar reasons, then why are you there? Am I expected to think that unlike most (maybe all) other companies that move to China, you don't pull crap over there?

Not only do they expect me to believe this, but they expect all of us to believe it and didn't give any proof, fabricated or otherwise. That's about as suspect as you can get without outright admitting that you're full of s**t. Furthermore, it contradicts what the very workers of said factories have been saying for years. I'd ask for proof from them, but they have done nothing to show me that they won't fabricate it. Beyond that, they have done plenty to show me that they are willing to fake it and lie to us.

 

[jaber2]

Suicises = Desperate situation, if Apple can't see that then there is something is horribly wrong with Apple.

 

[burmese_dude]

Fair Labor Association of China?

 

[steved54321]

I've been to China twice and visited both ShenZhen & GuongZhou. You have to understand that China is a second world country and whats "first class" to us cannot be compared to "first class" in China. ShenZhen & GuongZhou are nowhere compared to Beijing or Shanghai. In terms of development if Beijing and Shanghai were both 10/10, ShenZhen & GuongZhou would be a 5 or a 6. Expect huge differences from province to province. By the way, these people working for 1220 RMB are getting paid a lot higher than the average salary in China which is under 1000 RMB. You can't compare a factory workers salary in US/CAN to a factory worker in China.

Have you been to China? For most of you, probably not, so guess what? Your opinions have no weight.

Do you know how much English teachers get paid in China? 1.5-3K RMB per month, and business English 4-6K per month. Last October I went to China and was in GuongZhou, I saw a worker at a restaurant open a man hole to take out sewage and put it in a large bucket. Do you know why they do this? To make cooking oil, did you know that? There's a lot of bad stuff going on in China especially since inflation with almost no salary raise. You know why there's lineup for work at Foxconn? Because the pay is better than working in most of the jobs that don't require a proper education.

If you haven't been to China you can't really say much.

I visit the forums on Tom's almost everyday, and haven't signed on for a while, but I felt I had to let you guys know you can't just boast your opinion without having any facts. Why don't you look deeper into this issue like you do in hardware reviews etc.

 

[khha4113]

Now Fair Labor Association said today, "“We’re finding tons of issues,” van Heerden said en route to a meeting where FLA inspectors were scheduled to present preliminary findings to Foxconn management. “I believe we’re going to see some very significant announcements in the near future.”
Why did they suddenly change tone?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-17/foxconn-auditor-finds-tons-of-issues-.html