Apple 'dismayed' to find over 100 kids building its iDevices

Apple found 106 different ongoing cases of underage workers in its suppliers in China and 70 historical cases, according to its seventh annual supplier audit. The fruity firm said it was "dismayed to discover" that one supplier, Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics (PZ), was rampantly violating the policy, with 74 …

[Chad H.]

Well

Fault em all you like, but its refreshing to see such honesty and openness - what makes it stranger is the subject is secretive Apple.

Fact is everyone who makes stuff in that region probably has these issues, but most are happy to play on a see-no-evil basis, only acting when it's shoved in front of their noses.

[LarsG]

Now

Will Samsung follow suit?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Now

The abuses were in Samsung's own factories, so they know damn well they're going on and choose not to give a toss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Now

> "The abuses were in Samsung's own factories, so they know damn well they're going on and choose not to give a toss."

Yes - because as we all know, Samsung celebrated its record earnings by re-branding itself with the much more catchy name "Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics (PZ)".

Bit of a FAIL there, AC troll.

[Anal Leakage]

Re: Now

To do so would be to copy Apple, so... probably.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well

They do this every year and they are completely open about it, unlike many of the other companies who don't get attacked in the media, so don't bother.

[asdf]

Re: Well

Yep really nice of them to finally start showing any concept of social justice after they have become the biggest company the world. They did it basically by manipulating people with more money than brains in the 1st world to buy things made by child/slave labor in the 3rd world. Apple is the super high end Walmart.

[unwarranted triumphalism]

Re: Well

Yes, I will fault them all I like. They knew this was going on, and now they've been found out, they're SHOCKED.

Enjoy your slave-labour products, iTards. Do they come with the salty tang of childrens' tears?

[nanchatte]

Re: Well

iTards? salty tears of children? STFU. You are either Amish/Luddite or a hypocrite/twat. Circle as appropriate.

[unwarranted triumphalism]

Re: Well

You sound upset. Don't take things personally, it's just a job, defending Apple on the Internet.

Anyway, I'll take 'Luddite' if you don't mind. Unless Apple have a patent on that as well.

[Anonymous Сoward]

Re: Well

You four (or is it five now?) thumbs down tards really need to ditch your iCrap and get a REAL phone.

[Blitterbug]

Re: the salty tang of childrens' tears...

I agree. I had to return all four of my new iPads. Damned salt residue trapped under the screens. One of 'em even had a bit of young thumb trapped behind the bezel. Bastards. Care and attention, Apple. Care and attention.

[Annihilator]

Re: Well

"Enjoy your slave-labour products, iTards. Do they come with the salty tang of childrens' tears?"

So where do you think HTC, Samsung or LG phones come from? Do they have the salty tang of childrens' [sic] tears?

[Anonymous Coward]

And cue anti-Apple rants in 3, 2, 1...

I wonder how all the other consumer electronic firms are getting on with their audits???

[JimmyPage]

Could this be translated into sales ?

In the same way *some* people are willing to pay a premium for "organic" food, could there be a group of users who would pay more for a product guaranteed to be made ethically[1] ? Possibly by being built in the UK. Or US ?

[1]Yes, I'm aware there's the provenance of the raw materials ...

[Longrod_von_Hugendong]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

I would be quite happy to pay extra for things that are not built in the dodgy parts of the far east, nor do i really want anything to do with China, but needs must when the devil drives.

Devil for obvious reasons...

[Annihilator]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

"I would be quite happy to pay extra for things that are not built in the dodgy parts of the far east"

Buy a Lumia then, made in Finland.

The thing to remember is that the US and UK probably couldn't bring their manufacturing back from the Far East any more. All the skills that could make this stuff have long gone or never existed (in today's scales) in the first place.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

"Buy a Lumia then, made in Finland." With most of the electronic parts made in the Far East...

[Chad H.]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

I think its in this case a reverse factor... People aren't buying Apple because its "Ethical", but they might not buy if its very "unethical"... Once you throw "China" and "manufacturing" in the mix, you're never going to get the "Ethical" buy, the "Chineese Manufacturing" brand is just too tainted... But if abuses are being commonly shown, it might put other soff.

That said, with Apple bringing some desktop manufacturing back to the US, maybe they are slowly moving to have this as a key product differencial. We in the west are beginning to wake up to the problems to the local economy of losing manufacturing jobs... Maybe "Built Here" is the next "Grown here".

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

It's actually the other way around.

The smaller cheaper items that people need really quickly tend to be built in the US and places close to where they are needed and the larger less regular purchases are made in China.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

USA? You mean cheap Mexicans?

[Gannon (J.) Dick]

Re: Could this be translated into sales ?

No, Jimmy. Organizations have no Ethics. "This" can only be translated into racketeering.

disclaimer: I live in the American South which does not enhance one's Ethics credibility, but please read on ...

Years ago I was going to do something which would potentially annoy my employer. I ran it by my boss who said "do what you think best, They can fire you, but they can't shoot you"

What he was really saying is that:

1. things which cannot kill you (Organizations) have no other behavior constraints

2. things you cannot kill have no fear of lying to you

[RainForestGuppy]

Nothing to see here:

Anybody who believes that any product made in China, India and other Asia-Pac, is totally free from child labour is clearly deluding themselves.

Wherever there are additional profits to be made by exploiting cheap labour it will happen.

Apple must be applauded for naming and shaming, but unfortunetly it won't remove the issue, as human greed will always be part of the equation.

[Dave 15]

Par for the course

Child labour is normal in Chinese products. As almost everything is now built there (Nokia, iPhone et al) then frankly buy a phone, employ a child... buy a toy, employ a child, buy some furniture employ a child...

[Psyx]

The...fsck...?!!!

"92 per cent of its suppliers were compliant with a maximum 60-hour week with at least one day off and only voluntary overtime."

Well, so long as nearly all of them only have ten hour working days and 'voluntary'* overtime, I guess it's all ok.

* Student experience in a supermarket taught me that you can either volunteer for it, or be made unemployed, so I can't imagine it being a different story in China.

[Anonymous Coward]

How old were these under 16's?

Were they 10?11? or were they more likely 14/15, if so then stop calling them kids, my grandfather emigrated to canada when he was 14 and worked on a farm, 14 is a perfectly acceptable time to leave education and start a job if your not planning an academic carear! aside from reading/writing & basic maths, there is little that school offers for the average person that will not be learned on the job, it makes much more sense to learn working than to sit in a class room....

I really get angry at young adults being treated as children, mainly because I remember how patronising the adults could be at times, especially Americans, hell when I was 18 I was treated as a child when I went to the USA...

Now the other issues, such as low pay, 'bonded workers' & long hours need to be addressed for everyone!

[Joe Cooper]

What you say resonates with me, but they explicitly mentioned forged documentation. If this was in violation of local law, that is a matter for their society.

[Spoonsinger]

Re : Grand Pump Room Hotel

That reminds me of the Sofa Of Time line, (paraphrased),

"....and the younger kids played stab the witches eyes out with icicles, while the older boys went down to the pumping house to become men."

[Psyx]

"and as long as they aren't forced to work or denied an education and their hours are limited then I see no problem with it."

In this case, they're doing 60 hour weeks, on a production line, doing repetitive work.

That's not educational, it's not learning life skills, it's not improving oneself, it's not healthy, or character-building, or any of those things that part-time paper-rounds and such-like are. It's just exploiting people because they're cheap and setting them up for a life of meaningless unskilled drudgery.

[Andrew Moore]

they could be 6/7 for all we know.

[Anonymous Coward]

"if your not planning an academic carear"

For reasons to plan an academic career, see above.

[Tom 7]

Apple 'dismayed' to find over 100 kids building its iDevices

it thought 46 were enough!

[Anonymous Coward]

Its bad enough child labour is used by loads of these companies but Apple are worse. At least all the other companies are using cheap labour to sell cheap stuff, Apple are just using it to inflate their profits

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh please, EVERYBODY does it to inflate profits.

[Joe Cooper]

"Oh please, EVERYBODY does it to inflate profits."

Indeed. Some are just bad at it.

[Robert Helpmann??]

Quando, Quando, Quando?

And here I thought Apple was going to set up manufacturing in the States (again)? When is that going to happen?

[Darryl]

Re: Quando, Quando, Quando?

Just assembly, so they can proudly print "Assembled in USA" on the back of their products.

Everything will still be manufactured in China, Korea, etc. as usual.

HOWEVER - credit where credit is due. At least Apple does these yearly audits and does something about it. Maybe other manufacturers do as well, but you don't hear much about it if they do.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Quando, Quando, Quando?

They have all the materials, machinery and experience in production. We've lost all of that due to the decline of manufacturing.

We've also lost the engineering skills to install the machinery, commission it and maintain it. My father is in his 70s and is still working in engineering, he says there's nobody with anywhere near the level of experience as he has in the company left.

[xyz]

Re: Quando, Quando, Quando?

when they make a deal with the NRA to manufacture iLocknLoad rifles I suppose. Apple is doing anything publicity wise to keep its share price up during its back to prejobsian times death slide. Sorry, buit it didn't feel right to end the week without sticking one in

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Quando, Quando, Quando?

Soon — work conditions in the US are on the verge of becoming similar to those in China:

I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave

[Michael Xion]

Re: Quando, Quando, Quando?

Wow. I had no idea, but i should have suspected something like this. Thanks for posting the link.

[pewpie]

About as 'dismayed' as...

Jimmy Saville was when he landed his first TOTP gig.

Feel free to add your own analogies. Winner gets a banana. (not necessarily from me)

[pewpie]

PS

I think 'crestfallen' would have conveyed thier malicious indifference far more effectively, not to mention ornately.

[Gannon (J.) Dick]

Here's the video ...

Apple also discovered eight facilities with "bonded labour" ...

http://video.pbs.org/program/slavery-another-name/

[Anonymous Coward]

If they weren't working in the Apple factory, they'd be in some bazaar sat on a tea-chest selling skinned-alive toads.

[Anonymous Coward]

HTC, Samsung

Or whichever other brand you are buying, where are there publicly reviewed audits. Loathe them if you like, but at least apple are open about it, Korean firms have terrible working conditions (It's cultural and they treat people dreadfully)

[Paul Hovnanian]

100 Children?

That's terrible!

Can't we cut that back to 50 and just work them longer hours?

[Jamie Jones]

Eadon.....

<Eadon mode>

Of course, this happens because of proprietary software, There's no way this could happen with open source, because even those that are paid to work on Linux development by various companies are personally vetted by Linus, who let's NOTHING slip past him.... That's yet another reason why Linux is the best operating system IN THE UNIVERSE BAR NONE.

</Eadon mode>

[Katie Saucey]

Re: Eadon.....Nice try...

Thanks for the "puesdo Eadon" Jamie. But you need to make the posts' content even further from the point of the article. Oh yeah, next time make use of multiple "windoze", "wintard", M$ etc. to achieve that holier-than-thou late 1990's Linux guru feel. Overall good effort 7/10.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Eadon.....Nice try...

For extra points, include the word "shill" in every sentence. You should also use this to describe anyone who has an opinion different to your own.

[Anonymous Coward]

Made in China

Avoid when possible.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Made in China

"Avoid when possible." Too late.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Apple 'dismayed' to find over 100 kids building its iDevices"

Allegedly sources "quite close to the situation" say it had expected to find "at least 5,000" and is now wondering "how the other 4,900 got away."

[Anonymous Coward]

Clearly one area other manufacturers do not copy Apple in being more open and doing something about it.

[Anonymous Coward]

The main issue preventing transfer of manufacturing to the US/EU is the way China taxes exports of rare earths. Destroying pay and conditions in the US (and now the UK) is not going to bring about any significant improvement in manufacturing that relies upon these materials until this sourcing problem is resolved.

Apple should have cancelled the contract with the Company that charges fee's, not just had a word with them, frankly it disgusts me.

The people that think it's OK to work at 14, sorry, but an education is important, not just basic skills, but advanced or trade skills, people who have degrees cannot even get jobs in the UK, frankly that families feel the need to forge documents is a disaster, education is the biggest regret of adults, and these kids are probably being robbed of choice through financial pressures on the family, it is not OK.

And it is exploitation, as you can pay kids in the UK (16 year olds, yes they are kids) half the wage of a 25 year old (even with our minimum wage structure)

And 60 hour weeks, what is the point of living, it's not like these jobs are skilled and enjoyable

[Cari]

Those who are for kids under 16 working are probably imagining the work being outside of school hours, like they would have had (paper round etc.). Which is probably not the case when we're talking about factories using child labour...

[Anonymous Coward]

"people who have degrees cannot even get jobs in the UK"

Show me anyone who really believes a degree guarantees employment and I'll show you a fool.

[Anonymous Coward]

I really don't get the connection between child labour in China and Literature/Politics/Physics graduates.

[Jason Hindle]

Yay, meet the iPod Touch

Built by children, for children. Reminds me of the Onion's spoof Gap ad.

[Tim Worstal]

errr

100 children out of a workforce of what, 1 million (this is not Foxconn, this includes all the suppliers to Apple through Foxconn).

0.01%? Anyone think any large organisation is obeying the law perfectly down to that level of statistical noise?

[Interceptor]

I am entirely certain Apple was dismayed that 100 kids were found building iPhones.

[wowfood]

emphasis on the 'found'

[mickey mouse the fith]

Probably the tip of a really depressing iceberg

Apple are to be commended for coming clean, but they must have known full well that the conditions in some of those factories wasnt good. I bet there were many more bonded/child workers that the factories managed to hide. Maybe they even let the auditors find some low hanging fruit to put them off the scent.

Points are deducted for Apple not even passing the savings they made onto their customers though. At least that nice mp4 cellphone watch made with the despair of a thousand weeping orphans is only £59 on ebay. Apple, why are iphones so expensive?

[Prof. Mine's A. Pint]

Don't know how to call this one.

I'm not an Apple fan (almost the complete opposite), most of my toys are android based, but I don't know how to call this one.

Top marks for honesty and public disclosure to Apple, but have they penalised these supplier?

It's going to hurt up and down the supply chain (and this is where it goes from pontification to complete disapproval); Have Apple returned the units and demanded a refund, as these companies have obviously violated Apple's supply policy?

But here's my problem; While it's easy to point out the failures of Apple to act upon this information, how many of the companies I'm buying from are enjoying the same benefits while turning a blind eye?

So, on the whole, I'm inclined to say it's a small win for Apple.

"I'll get my coat " icon because I'll probably get hit from supporters in all camps who have the attention span of a goldfish and didn't read all of the post.

Have a nice day!

[Chad H.]

Top marks for honesty and public disclosure to Apple, but have they penalised these supplier?

Given one of the lanour companies is out of business, I would say there has been some penalisation.

Agree with most of your other points though.

[elderlybloke]

Britain during the Industrial Revolution

and later exploited small/young/immature people in diabolical and dangerous Factories and Mines.

The Royal Navy in Nelson's time used 8 and 9 year old sailors as "Powder Monkeys".

It is only very recently that Britain has been able to become all sanctimonious.

[Anonymous Coward]

LEAVE CHINA ALONE!

Two things come to mind, first and foremost these children are going to great lengths to get these jobs, falsifying age documents etc. They aren't being sold into slavery, they aren't being kidnapped they are going to lengths to get work. Why should we force our "children can't work" bullshit on China?

Hell when I was under 16 I wanted to work, even if it was only part time, but I couldn't. I wasn't allowed, and I couldn't even get a job until I hit 18 because the only work in this area is factory based, alcohol based or 'you need a degree' based.

Furthermore this point

The audit found that 34 factories required female workers to be screened to see if they were pregnant before they were hired and 25 were doing other medical testing like Hepatitis B tests.

I actually think this is a great idea. If I were looking for a full time employee and they said "yeah I'm only working for 9 months or less, then I'm taking off" I wouldn't hire them. Why should a pregnant woman get different treatment? Then again, I'm also for people not getting maternity unless they've been working at a company for over a year.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dismayed

That's alright then. However, as the number of new cases outweighs all the historical ones they obviously aren't doing anything about it which is no surprise after all, as being dismayed costs them nothing. If the trend continues then no doubt they'll be dismayed again after the next audit .

[ukgnome]

Yet another reason to by british

Sure, I need a suitcase to carry around the coal, and I have to wear a pneumatic arm to lift the phone. But at least I can be smug.

[Amazing Stace]

in demand

Forgive me for straying from the IT angle just briefly, but surely the bigger problem at hand is that the largest population in the world (China) is stricken with such poverty that parents desperate for an extra income are faking documents to get their kids into nightmarish factory jobs?

[Nifty]

Take 2... now I get it

On first glance I thought that 100 kids were building good iClones on their own

[Anonymous Coward]

"In total, 11 factories supplying parts for iDevices were found to have employed underage workers, but in the other cases, the facilities apparently "had insufficient controls" to check their staff's age, and there was no intentional hiring of kids, Apple said."

Am I just an old jaded cynic for reading that as:

"The companies that were critical to Apple's profits/supply chain were found to have performed no intentional hiring of kids. The one that wasn't was thrown to the wolves to make the company look good"

[MrZoolook]

There's a cash-cow there Apple

Patenting social responsibility and humanitarianism would net you PROFIT!