Apple aside, Foxconn?s got ?tons of issues?

As reported in Speed Matters, following the New York Times revelations, Apple and later its supplier Foxconn acted quickly to deflect some of the outrage over Foxconn's notorious working conditions - although it remains to be seen whether any of the remedies proposed so far will change a culture of often harsh management.

First, Apple admitted the worker abuses, while claiming its own integrity, and moved to assign the Fair Labor Association to investigate conditions at Foxconn plants, particularly the massive Shenzhen and Chengdu factories, where explosions and suicides had made the news.

Then, within weeks, Foxconn moved to change the subject by instituting a pay raise. According to news reports, this and other raises have doubled average wages since 2010:

"Taiwan-based Foxconn said the pay of a junior level worker in Shenzhen, southern China, had risen to 1,800 yuan ($290) per month and could be further raised above 2,200 yuan if the worker passed a technical examination."

While it may assuage some workers, pay was not really the issue. Rather it has been the grueling work, forced overtime and dangerous shop floor conditions, which the FLA has promised to investigate and report upon.

Although the FLA has often been viewed warily by other labor groups, its inspectors readily admit that Foxconn is a problem manufacturer. FLA Chief Executive Officer Auret van Heerden said recently and succinctly, "We're finding tons of issues." Another FLA official told Reuters that conditions at Foxconn were far from the worst in China, which is hardly a ringing endorsement. Nevertheless, the group laid out an ambitious plan:

"Van Heerden said that FLA's 30-person inspection team will interview 35,000 Foxconn employees, via meetings with small groups of randomly picked workers, chosen to reflect the demographics of the campus in terms of age, gender and skill levels. As part of the process, workers log answers to questions on tablets connected to FLA servers so they can be tabulated."

According to another fair labor monitor, Verite, "many alleged violations - say, forced overtime or use of certain toxic chemicals - can be hard to detect. 'Those are not things one would see on a hosted tour that was planned in advance,' said Verite founder Heather White.

At the same time, the AFL-CIO has begun to circulate a petition calling on Apple to match its innovative technology with an enlightened labor policy. Sign the labor federation's petition, "joining a worldwide movement calling on Apple to commit to nothing less than excellence in workers' rights."

Apple's response to Foxconn outcry is swift but flawed

http://www.speedmatters.org/blog/archive/apples-response-to-foxconn-outcry-is-swift-but-flawed/

In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html 

Apple Partner Foxconn Has 'Tons of Issues,' Labor Group Says

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-21/apple-partner-foxconn-has-tons-of-issues-labor-group-says.html

and

iPad maker Foxconn lifts China workers pay again

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/17/us-foxconn-pay-idUSTRE81G0M920120217

Verite (website) 

http://www.verite.org/

AFL-CIO Apple petition (website) 

http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=3751