Four former Apple employees in charge of suppliers say Apple was aware of and complicit in labor law violations in China.
The Cupertino company is once again in turmoil over the working conditions of employees of some of its suppliers. Four former employees in charge of suppliers accuse Apple of having turned a blind eye to the breaches in labor law of some of its subcontractors, so that the launch of its products does not fall behind, reports The Information.
Accusations which obviously tarnish the brand image of Apple which does not hesitate to highlight its responsible approach within its supply chain. However, in fact, the American firm would not be as flawless as it claims.
In 2014, a new law came into force in China, imposing a maximum quota of 10% for temporary contracts in factories. At the time, Apple had surveyed 362 Chinese subcontractors and “ almost half exceeded the quota for temporary workers. Eighty factories used temporary workers for more than half of their workforce “. The American firm then gave its subcontractors until March 2016 for things to change, except that since then nothing has changed.
Apple “has not taken any major action against its suppliers for violating the labor law of temporary workers for fear of creating costs, draining resources and delaying product launches,” said former employees of the American firm .
These breaches in labor law were noted in particular within Foxconn, Pegatron or O-Film, Apple’s main suppliers. Some subcontractors have justified their actions by putting the blame on the American company. According to them, to avoid leaks, Apple would wait until the last minute to start production of its products while demanding large volumes, making suppliers unable to comply with the law.
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