Do Apple Factories Meet Ethical Working Conditions?

Inside Apple’s Factories: do Apple factories meet ethical working conditions?

Destiny Medina

10 December 2015

Apple, Inc. is well known for their technology but also their treatment towards employees. Over the past few years, many stories have surfaced about the poor treatment that employees receive at Apple’s biggest suppliers, Foxconn and Pegatron in China. Apple employees are dying and committing suicide because they’re overworked (McCarthy, 2015). Apple factories have been compared to a sweatshop because of the long hours that employees work on a daily basis. Factory employees work 12-16 hours a day and they all work seven days a week (Bilton, 2014). Chinese workers have been overworked for years but Apple refuses to change the situation. Apple, Inc. has released statements saying that the work conditions have changed but employees and undercover reporters have proven that nothing has been done. Apple is a company respected by so many people, but it could use its influence and power in more positive ways.

The way that Apple’s factories are run is completely unethical. Labor is very cheap in China, and Apple, Inc. takes advantage of the low wage rates. According to an article by Fullerton and Chen (2015), an employee died because his body was exhausted. This employee worked in the Pegatron factory and was completely healthy before he started his job in the factory. When this former employee’s family wanted to look deeper into the case, Pegatron just gave his family money thinking it would solve the problem (Fullerton and Chen, 2015). Money does not change the fact that this family is now missing a loved one. It should not be allowed for companies to feel they have reached justice simply because they gave a family some money, it is unethical. The family of this young employee who had a sudden death wanted to do an autopsy to find out the exact cause of death but they couldn’t afford it and Pegatron and the police said they would have to pay on their own. The ethical approach of this death would be to give this employee’s family all the answers that they hoped for and to truly apologize by changing their work conditions.

Deaths are also a recurring problem at Foxconn, Apple’s main supplier. Chmielewski (2015) explains that suicide has been such a common occurrence within the Foxconn employees that Foxconn has placed a net around the buildings. Chmielewski (2015) spoke to Louis Woo, Foxconn’s spokesman; Woo said:

“The nets have been set up to prevent deadly impulsive acts. If you can stop that impulse, even for 30 seconds- the person has to struggle for 30 seconds to open the window- they will change their mind”.

Although the nets might determine the employee to reconsider their actions, Foxconn should solve the bigger issue. Employees are committing suicide because their bodies are overworked and exhausted, which can easily be fixed by having to work less hours. Bilton (2014) wrote about the work conditions in these factories and talked about undercover reporters working at Pegatron. Bilton (2014) mentioned, “One undercover reporter, working in a factory making parts for Apple computers, had to work 18 days in a row despite repeated requests for a day off.” The problem is that these employees need a break because they’re human and not robots. It is unethical for a company to force a person to work 12-16 hours a day, especially for more than two weeks in a row.

Although Foxconn and Pegatron are Apple’s suppliers and not exactly Apple Inc., this poor treatment reflects on their company. Apple Inc. is aware of how these employees slave away to make their products but they choose to turn a blind eye instead of making changes. McCarthy (2015) said, “the factory in question was visited by Apple CEO Tim Cook…. He posed for pictures and praised the “talented people” there who have helped build the latest iPhone model.” Tim Cook thanking the employees might mean a lot, but it did not change or help the workers. Instead of taking photos, Tim Cook should have asked the employees for feedback on working there, pros and cons; he should have tried to make a difference. Instead of being concerned, Tim Cook ignored the work conditions because at the end of the day, these unhappy employees make Apple a lot of money for cheap rates.

2 A great point was made in an article on Patently Apple (2015), “Apple shareholders don’t really care about how Apple’s products are made or the conditions of the plant workers. It’s about the return on the dollar.” Although this statement holds truth, Apple, Inc. should be punished for the work conditions in China. It is completely unethical for Apple to ignore these issues simply because the public eye ignores what is truly happening. The ethical thing for Apple to do would be to protect the employees at Foxconn and Pegatron by discussing work conditions with their suppliers. If it does not lead to ethical solutions, then their best option is to find a new supplier who will treat employees with dignity and respect. Foxconn and Pegatron both produce products for many other companies; this might be a huge factor in Apple ignoring the underlying issues. Apple might be afraid of going to a new supplier who only produces for Apple because the wage rates may increase. Apple takes advantage of the wage rates and contributes to the suicides and deaths by turning a blind eye on the issue.

3 Bibliography

 Bilton, R. (2014) Apple ‘failing to protect Chinese factory workers’. BBC. [Online] 18 December. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30532463 [Accessed: 9/21/15]

 Chmielewski, D. (2015) Where Apple Products Are Born: A Rare Glimpse Inside Foxconn’s Factory Gates. Re/Code. [Online] 6 April. Available from http://recode.net/2015/04/06/where-apple-products-are-born-a-rare-glimpse-inside- foxconns-factory-gates/ [Accessed: 9/21/15]

 Fullerton, J. and Chen, J. (2015) Chinese worker, 26, making Apple iPhones died after enduring 12 hour shifts, seven days a week, family claim. Daily Mail. [Online] 11 March. Available from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2979531/Chinese- worker-26-making-Apple-iPhones-died-enduring-12-hour-shifts-seven-days-week-two- months-bosses-vowed-clean-expose-factory-conditions-family-claim.html [Accessed: 9/21/15]

 McCarthy, K. (2015) Another death in Apple’s ‘Mordor’- its Foxconn Chinese assembly plant. The Register. [Online] 7 August. Available from http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/07/another_death_apple_assembly_plant/ [Accessed: 9/22/15]

 Patently Apple. (2015) China Labor Union Slams Apple for Closing their Eyes to Real Ongoing Labor Problems at Chinese Plants & More. 15 February. Available from http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2015/02/china-labor-union-slams-apple- for-closing-their-eyes-to-real-ongoing-labor-problems-at-chinese-plants-more-1.html [Accessed: 9/20/15]