Is Apple’s Core Rotting?

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Screen shot 2010-01-19 at 8.19.02 PM

Apple’s status as a responsible corporate citizen may be rotten to the core. News is coming out of China that employees of Wintek, a Taiwanese based company that supplies Apple iPhone displays as well as the much bally-hooed and not yet announced Tablet screens, are in an uproar over unsafe and unfair working conditions. Apple is going to have to address these issues soon if they hope to maintain their brand’s integrity and impression as one of the world’s best companies.

Over 2,000 workers at a Wintek factory in the east Jiangsu Province of China went on strike last week after four employees died recently. According to China Daily, the workers assert their deaths were due to prolonged exposure to hexane, a chemical used to wash the screens. Hexane is a dangerous chemical and requires strict safety equipment and venting in the US, however it is doubtful these standards are being followed in the Wintek factory.

China’s employment standards are notoriously lacking, and employees also do not have any meaningful unions or legal recourse to sue employers. Wintek is also reportedly not paying appropriate overtime rates (overtime is de rigeur in China, with a 60 hour work week being the norm) nor are they keeping their promise of paying a bonus to the employees prior to Chinese New Year. They are also cutting back on food quality for the workers. This is leading to increasing frustration which has boiled over at the factory which has seen employees damaging equipment and nearby cars. This is not the first case of employee outrage. In April of last year Apple was faced with a list of issues from the employees. Apple responded by saying:

Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility wherever our products are [made], and we require corrective actions when we find violations.

Were the violations corrected? It would not appear to be the case. Their code of Supplier Responsibility can be found here. It specifically states standards for use of chemicals, and the payment of wages and overtime at premium rates. Is this being followed? Are they turning a blind eye to these issues so as to not scare off potential tablet customers?

I for one am very disappointed by this turn of events and am letting Apple know how I feel. Of course these employees are smart, knowing that the release of the Apple tablet will be subject to intense media scrutiny so any time their protests hit the news their effect is magnified by all the Apple newshounds and fanboys. So I am playing right into their hands, but if the reports are accurate, I believe they make a good case, and Apple needs to step up and make things right. Outsourcing production of products is one thing, but violating basic working standards is quite another.

This is an article by The Apps Machine.