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Article

15 Feb 2011

Author:
Samuel Wade, China Digital Times

Apple Releases New Supplier Responsibility Report

...Apple['s]...newly released 2011 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report...pledges greater cooperation with Chinese NGOs in the future...[The] report mentions...arrangements with NGOs Verité and the Fair Labor Association...It remains to be seen how far greater involvement of outsiders in Apple’s auditing will address concerns about lack of independent verification...On underage labour: "...Our audits of 127 facilities revealed ten Chinese factories that had hired workers under the age of 16 years, the minimum age for employment in China...we found one that had hired a much larger number of underage workers—a total of 42. In addition, we determined that management had chosen to overlook the issue...we terminated business with the facility...[On] the Wintek case: "...[We] learned that 137 workers at...Wintek, one of Apple’s suppliers, had suffered adverse health effects following exposure to n-hexane, a chemical in cleaning agents...We required Wintek to stop using n-hexane and to provide evidence that they had removed the chemical from their production lines...Since these changes, no new workers have suffered difficulties from chemical exposure." [also refers to suicides at Foxconn (part of Hon Hai)]

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