shira
Diamond Member
- Jan 12, 2005
- 9,500
- 6
- 81
You obviously haven't read the full article. Apple's policy is that it forces its suppliers to supply complete, documented information on costs: salaries, rents, cost of materials - everything. Then Apple tells the supplier how much it will pay per unit produced. The margins Apple gives to its suppliers are razor thin. The suppliers then "play" those narrow margins by forcing their workers to be on call 24 hours a day, to work 60+ hour weeks, to live 6 or 7 to a company-supplied room, and to maintain marginal workplace safety. The workers don't have much choice, since they can easily be replaced.
Apple, for its part, is clearly not serious about forcing its suppliers to shape up. Apple's stated policy is that they'll "fire" suppliers who don't do the right thing by their workers. But Apple has known about these conditions for years and has done nothing.
This isn't saying that Apple isn't the only company to take advantage of Chinese labor practices, but according to the article, it seems that Apple is the worst "enabler." Other companies apparently pay their suppliers more, on the understanding that the extra money will go entirely to improving the lot of their hourly workers. As far as I can tell, Apple is solely interested in maximizing its profits, and to hell with Chinese workers.
Don't get me wrong: Apple makes fantastic products. I own a Macbook Pro and an ipad, and I was considering moving to the next-generation iphone when it became available. But I've decided I'm not going to purchase any more Apple products until I hear credible reports that Apple is actually doing something about the reported problems.
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