|
Foxconn has ‘tonnes
of issues’ to deal with: labor group
Bloomberg
The Fair Labor Association (FLA), a watchdog that monitors working conditions at
makers of Apple Inc products, has uncovered “tonnes of issues” that need to be
addressed at a Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) plant in Shenzhen, China, FLA
chief executive officer Auret van Heerden said.
Van Heerden made the comments in a telephone interview after a multiday
inspection of the factory. Apple, the first technology company to join the
association, said on Monday that it asked the Washington-based nonprofit
organization to inspect plants owned by three of its largest manufacturing
partners.
“We are finding tonnes of issues,” van Heerden said en route to a meeting where
association inspectors were scheduled to present preliminary findings to Foxconn
management. “I believe we are going to see some very significant announcements
in the near future.”
He declined to elaborate on the findings. The association plans to release more
information about its inspection in the coming weeks. By then, the company will
have had a chance to contest or agree to steps to prevent further violations.
“Foxconn is cooperating fully with this audit and we will review and act on all
findings and recommendations,” Foxconn said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
“This is a very professional and thorough review and any deficiencies the FLA
might find in the implementation of customer or Foxconn policies will be
addressed.”
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling referred to a company statement about the audits
issued on Monday.
Van Heerden said in an interview published on Wednesday that Foxconn’s plants
were “first class.” He said he was surprised “how tranquil it is compared with a
garment factory.”
Heather White, the founder of Verite, another monitoring group, said that many
alleged violations can be hard to detect.
Apple has commissioned the association to conduct smaller projects over the past
two years, to try out some of the inspection techniques employed by the group to
more effectively root out workplace problems.
Van Heerden said he had been impressed with Apple and Foxconn’s responses to
hazards related to the polishing of aluminum, which led to explosions at Foxconn
and another Apple supplier, Pegatron Corp (和碩), that killed at least three
workers and injured more than 70 people last year. Van Heerden said that Apple
researched the problem and hired a respected consultant.
Van Heerden said that association’s 30-person inspection team would interview
35,000 Foxconn employees via meetings with small groups of randomly picked
workers, chosen to reflect the demographics of the campus in terms of age,
gender and skill levels. As part of the process, workers log answers to
questions on tablets connected to association servers so they can be tabulated.
White, who is also a fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for
Ethics, said group meetings on Foxconn’s premises might not yield honest
responses. She said that she found it more productive to talk to workers in
their homes or other off-site locations.
“It is very hard to get people to speak openly about very serious issues,” she
said.
|
