Labor Rights Violations: 17 Broken Promises By Apple And Its Chinese Suppliers

How long does it take for endemic and institutional problems to be solved? Judging from numerous reports on labor rights violations at Apple’s various China suppliers, it takes years for minute improvements to be made. But, as today’s newest investigation from China Labor Watch (CLW) shows, these reports are as grim as ever.

The new CLW report looks at three Pegatron factories (Pegatron Shanghai, Riteng in Shanghai, and AVY in Suzhou) that are key Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) suppliers and finds ongoing labor abuses – such as excessive work hours above China’s legal limit; pregnant women forced to quit for their own well-being; underage labor from local vocational colleges – and other wrongdoings like environmental pollution.

Of course, other companies should shoulder the blame as well. Some of those Pegatron facilities are also producing for Nokia, Panasonic, HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, and Sony.

Rather than summarizing the whole report, let’s look at the section called ‘Apple’s 17 promises versus 17 realities’.

1. Apple: We limit work weeks to 60 hours

But CLW notes:

At the three Pegatron factories that CLW investigated, weekly working hours for the majority of production workers were about 66, 67, and 69 hours, respectively. When orders were being rushed, these hours were even longer and workers seldom received a day off. China’s legal limit is 49 hours per week.

2. Apple: All overtime must be voluntary

But, in reality, “if a worker chooses one time not to accept scheduled overtime, the factory will not provide her an opportunity to do any overtime work for the entire month as punishment.” Many workers rely on having some overtime to boost the meagre wages.

“Hourly wages for workers producing Apple products (between $1.30 and $1.50) are not high enough to meet basic needs. For example, in Shanghai, China’s most expensive city, where the average wage is $764, workers at Pegatron only earn $268 before overtime.”

3. Apple: We don’t tolerate underage labor

In reality, rampant corruption, especially between Chinese factory bosses and vocational schools, sees student “interns” required to work at the factories.

4. Excessive use of third-party labor agents

“In each of the three Pegatron Group subsidiaries factories, there was a heavy reliance on third-party labor agents — i.e., dispatch labor companies — to hire workers.” Some facilities recruit 50 percent of workers in this way. But an upcoming Chinese law will limit that to 10 percent at each facility. But that presumes the law will be enforced.

5. Apple: We require all of our suppliers to compensate workers for any illegal deductions and wage deficiencies

“Each of the three factories we investigated had unpaid overtime violations in which they did not compensate workers for daily 15- to 30-minute meetings, adding up to 7 to 14 hours of unpaid overtime per worker per month.”

6. Suppliers still doing discriminatory screening for medical conditions or pregnancy

The Pegatron factories had a list of discriminatory hiring practices, including refusing to hire people shorter than 4 foot 11 inches tall, pregnant women, those older than 35, people with tattoos, or people of the Hui, Tibetan, or Uighur ethnic groups. Not that it justifies this, but many companies in China – including foreign companies operating in the country – practice discriminatory screening as well.

7. Apple: Excessive recruitment fees and bonded labor are strictly prohibited

8. Apple: We require suppliers to implement Apple-designed training programs to educate workers about their rights

Sadly, this well-intentioned training is done badly by factory management.

9. Ineffective or threatening management

10. Apple: Our suppliers must follow strict standards when hiring students

11. Apple: Workers have a right to be in an environment where they can voice their concerns freely

12. Protective gear and safety kit

13. Apple: We are committed to worker well-being

14. Apple: It is critical that both suppliers and Apple employees are prepared to identify hazards

15. Apple: We do not tolerate environmental violations of any kind

16. Apple: An Apple auditor leads every onsite audit

17. Apple: We forbid disciplinary pay deductions in any country