1000 workers riot in Foxconn factory.

I was having dinner last night with a good friend who's opinions I value. He said that I come across in this blog as a bit of an Apple hater and that I should tone it down.  If anyone else thinks this then I apologize. Apple is no worse than any other US brand making in China. My goal here is not to vilify Apple so much, rather it is to point out some obvious inadequacies in their Labor Compliance process.

Unless they focus on Root Causes, and Yes, that might mean taking a good look at their business practices, the improvements they say they will make will not happen anytime soon.
In a a recent article about 1000 workers in a Foxconn factory rioting, workers said the improvements promised are not happening. Whilst the reason for the riot was not labor related, tensions between management and workers remain high.

Here's a report from the Guardian outling recent investigations from SACOM, an NGO in Hong Kong

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/30/foxconn-abuses-despite-apple-reforms?newsfeed=true

I reiterate that unless Apple, or any other company engaged in Labor Compliance understands the probable impact that their business practices and sourcing decisions have on a factory's ability to meet their compliance objectives, they will fail to deliver on their promises.
Regards
Wally

FLA finds evidence that dogs eat bones

Well, this isn't exactly what they found at the Apple factories, but it might have well been. Finding labor violations in factories in China is hardly rocket science. What they didn't find, as far as I can see, is why these violations occur in the first place. Without this critical information, their assertion that this will get fixed within 15 months is just not believable. If Apple don't take a hard look at their purchasing practices, this will turn out to be a very expensive PR stunt.
There are SO many reports and studies out there that indicate these have a significant impact on a factory's ability to meet the compliance demands.
Take the blinkers off Apple and take a look, you might learn something.

Mike Daisey's alleged Foxconn fabrications

For those of you who have been following the Apple/Foxconn story, you will be aware of  Mike Daisey's acclaimed one-man show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," in which he talks about visiting a factory in China that makes iPhones and other Apple products. This American Life show on NPR has issued a retraction because they can't vouch for its truth. He allegedly made up parts of his story, namely child labor, armed guards, chemical injuries etc.
Here's a link to the NPR retraction and interview with Mike Daisey. In the 3rd section, they interview the reporter from the NYT who describes what they actually found and also some of the statements made by Apple executives. There is a large part of the story that is not getting any airtime, and that has to do with why they, and many other companies, are working so much overtime in the first place.
I wrote to Ira Glass. See below;

Dear Ira,

I’d like to add some info that the NY Times team and Apple have not covered. I didn’t hear anyone discuss the reasons why so much overtime is being worked in the first place. In many cases, the buying practices of these companies are not compatible with corporate codes of conduct. Without getting to the root cause of these long term code violations, it will be impossible to correct or enforce. Faced with the need to meet a customer’s delivery and margin expectations, and also meet code provisions (60 hours), most factories falsify the records. Overtime and minimum wage violations are common, and never really go away. Why? Because in many cases, our corporate culture and business practices are at the root of it. Companies turn a blind eye to this as long as the factory has some improvements and is seen as willing to engage in continuous improvement. The factories know this and “play the game”, without ever addressing the long term issues.

One of the executives at Apple was quoted as saying if Apple wanted to, Apple could enforce codes of conduct and the factory would do it. This is not true. Unless they address their own business practices to make sure they are compatible with their own code of conduct, their factories will continue to be out of compliance.

Here’s a link to an article I wrote back in 2004. http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/apparel-other-finished-products-made/4397949-1.html

As you can see, this is still not being taken seriously, except by a small number of brands, such as Nike, Gap. You can read their efforts to address this in their annual CSR reports.

Apple should know better.

Wally

Apple in the press and feeling the squeeze

Sorry for the title. I couldn't resist it.
The New York Times put out an article last week about the compliance problems at Apple factories. I also received a request from the Huffington Post to comment on it, which I did. The Internet has been buzzing with indignation by Apple users and tech bloggers, and boycotts of their products have been called for. There wasn't much new in the report, except that they had a few quotes from ex Apple executives saying that business basically trumps compliance. And why, I ask, is this news? It would be a brave executive that would stand up and say " Let's reduce our profit forecast so we can pay factory workers more money".
This is more the reality.
“The only way you make money working for Apple is figuring out how to do things more efficiently or cheaper,” said an executive at one company that helped bring the iPad to market. “And then they’ll come back the next year, and force a 10 percent price cut.”
Here's the article in full