makeITfair

In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad

Marije Brouwer — 2012-02-01T23:00:00Z

makeITfair and GoodElectronics called upon Apple to improve its purchasing practices ensuring fair prices and well-planned lead times. This will enable suppliers to take necessary safety measures and to pay a living wage, allowing workers to work normal hours. makeITfair and GoodElectronics called upon Apple to be more transparent about its supplier and engage with labour rights organisations to make sure that working conditions improve.

Li Mingqi, who until April worked in management at Foxconn Technology, one of Apple’s most important manufacturing partners said “Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost ”, “Workers’ welfare has nothing to do with their interests,”. “Once the deal is set and Foxconn becomes an authorized Apple supplier, Apple will no longer give any attention to worker conditions or anything that is irrelevant to its products,” said Mr. Li.

“We’ve known about labor abuses in some factories for four years, and they’re still going on,” said one former Apple executive who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. “Why? Because the system works for us. Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”

“We’re trying really hard to make things better,” said one former Apple executive. “But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.”

“If you see the same pattern of problems, year after year, that means the company’s ignoring the issue rather than solving it,” said one former Apple executive with firsthand knowledge of the supplier responsibility group. “Noncompliance is tolerated, as long as the suppliers promise to try harder next time. If we meant business, core violations would disappear.”

“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.”

“You can set all the rules you want, but they’re meaningless if you don’t give suppliers enough profit to treat workers well,” said one former Apple executive with firsthand knowledge of the supplier responsibility group. “If you squeeze margins, you’re forcing them to cut safety.”

A former executive in Apple’s supplier responsibility group said: “There is a genuine, companywide commitment to the code of conduct. But taking it to the next level and creating real change conflicts with secrecy and business goals, and so there’s only so far we can go.” Former Apple employees say they were generally prohibited from engaging with most outside groups. “There’s a real culture of secrecy here that influences everything”.

Read full articles:
In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad. By CHARLES DUHIGG and DAVID BARBOZA. Published: January 25, 2012
How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work. By CHARLES DUHIGG and KEITH BRADSHER. Published: January 21, 2012

Announcement / Invitation - GoodElectronics & makeITfair Round Table

Marije Brouwer — 2012-01-29T23:00:00Z

Workers’ rights in the global electronics sector

Participation is open for electronics companies, including OEMS, EMS, EICC and GeSI members, trade unions, labour groups, NGOs, (EU) policy makers, activists and academics, etc.

Key themes are trends and consequences in contract labour and wage issues in the global electronics industry. Freedom of association, collective bargaining, position of employment agencies, migrant labour, grievance mechanisms, workers’ training are some of the topics that will be broached.
The focus of the Round Table is on discussing the different perspectives of the various actors and on defining common ground for action towards lasting improvement of labour conditions. Trade union approaches, views of NGOs from major production countries, and policies, practices and recent initiatives by the electronics sector will be considered in a constructive atmosphere. The Round Table offers an excellent opportunity for linking, learning and networking among a diverse group of participants. The programme offers key note speakers, panel presentations, plenary discussions and plenty of time for corridor chat.

The meeting will be held under the Chatham House Rule. Media are not invited. A press moment will take place prior before the closing lunch on Thursday May 10th at 12.30pm.
In 2009, makeITfair and the GoodElectronics Network hosted a Round Table to discuss supply chain social and environmental issues. The May 2012 round table is set up as a follow-up to this session. Click here for the May 2009 round table report.

To register, please return the registration form (attached) to p.overeem AT goodelectronics.org, by March 30 at the latest.

A detailed programme will be available shortly.

Contact persons
About the programme, registration:

Pauline Overeem - international coordinator GoodElectronics
Cell phone: 31.6.41344385
p.overeem AT goodelectronics.org
Irene Schipper - international coordinator makeITfair
Cell phone: 31.6.30390001
i.schipper AT somo.nl

Administration, logistics:

Joke Jeelof – Administration SOMO
Office 31.20.6391291
j.jeelof AT somo.nl

Logistic information
Dates                   Wednesday May 9 - Thursday May 10, 2012
Location               Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Venue                  Akantes, Nieuwe Herengracht 95, 1011 RX Amsterdam (website Akantes, in Dutch)

How to reach
Public transport
Tram 9 and 14: stop ‘Mr Visserplein’. Walk into the direction of the Plantage Middenlaan, turn left before the bridge, Nieuwe Herengracht.
All metro lines: stop ‘Waterlooplein’. Take exit ‘Hortus Plantsoen’. Above the ground, walk along the Hortus Botanicus, turn left, cross the bridge with tram rails, and turn right, Nieuwe Herengracht.
More information on public transport.

By car
Paid parking in the vicinity of Akantes.
Underground car park ‘Stadhuis/Muziektheater’at Waterlooplein 1. Open around the clock. Route from A10, direction S 100, turning ‘Centrum’, follow P signs.
Underground car park ‘Markenhoven’ at Anne Frankstraat 2. Open around the clock.
Route from A10, direction S 100, turning ‘Centrum’, follow P signs.
More information on parking in Amsterdam.

Will Apple turn over a new leaf when it joins the Fair Labor Association?

René Vlak — 2012-01-17T16:10:00Z

The global electronics sector is characterised by persistent labour rights violations. At the basis are an alarming low level of unionisation and the near absence of collective bargaining, particularly in China. Workers face long working hours in unhealthy and unsafe conditions. Overtime is widespread and often not paid appropriately. The facilities in Apple’s supply chain are no exception, as Apple itself has documented in its supplier responsibility reports.

Engage in dialogue with stakeholders

Apple, however, also has a history of failing to engage positively with groups that have raised concrete problems in Apple’s supply chain. In 2011, GoodElectronics and makeITfair did a campaign on Apple, ‘Time to bite into a fair Apple’, calling upon Apple to improve its communication with international stakeholders. That Apple has now joined a multi stakeholder initiative is in principle a good step forward.
makeITfair and GoodElectronics have specifically pressed Apple to engage in dialogue with trade unions and labour rights organisations to improve working conditions at Apple’s suppliers and support communication and negotiation between workers and management at Apple’s suppliers.
Especially in China this is a challenge Apple clearly has not been able to cope with. FLA does not actively facilitate the formation of unions through democratic elections. Regrettably, union representation on FLA board level is also weak.

Fair prices, delivery times and wages

GoodElectronics and makeITfair have also called upon Apple to improve its purchasing practices. We want Apple to pay its suppliers fair prices and apply acceptable delivery times to allow its manufacturers to pay workers a decent living wage. So far, Apple ignored these suggestions.
We consider purchasing practices a key element of responsible supply chain management. Brand companies should enable their suppliers to meet labour standards and not simply transfer this responsibility to their suppliers.
Unfortunately, FLA seems to accept that its members are unwilling to increase the unit price when placing orders. Also when it comes to wage policies, FLA’s position is little ambitious and leaves participating companies ample space to avoid actually paying a living wage.

Further improve transparancy

GoodElectronics and makeITfair call for improved transparency. As of joining the FLA, Apple has published a list of suppliers, together with its 2012 supplier sustainability report. This is a sure step in the right direction. The list, however, only gives supplier names but no other information.

FLA announces that the facilities in Apple's supply chain will be independently assessed and that and detailed findings will be reported on the FLA website. This may sound positive, but the factual requirement is for FLA to independently assess 5% of each member’s supply base. In the past, FLA has had trouble meeting these independent assessment requirements due to capability limitations.

Conclusion

Summarising, there are serious challenges ahead. GoodElectronics and makeITfair look forward to FLA and Apple engaging with relevant local and international stakeholders, including workers and their representatives, to join forces in bringing about the needed improvements.

Contact:

makeITfair – Irene Schipper
GoodElectronics – Pauline Overeem

Vote now for Samsung@ Public Eye Awards 2012!

Jenny Pannenbecker — 2012-01-12T12:15:00Z

Nominated this time for the (in)famous awards are the following six corporations:

Barclays (UK)
Freeport McMoRan (US)
Samsung (KOR)
Tepco (J)
Vale (BRA) and
Syngenta (CH)

Organised since 2000, Public Eye reminds the corporate world that social and environmental misdeeds have consequences - for the affected people and territory, but also for the reputation of the offender!

Make IT Fair and vote now for our favorite, Samsung, on www.publiceye.ch before the 26th of January.

Local voices remain unheard by mining and electronic companies

noor — 2011-12-09T09:20:00Z

“Electronics companies are expected to respect human rights down their supply chain and thus make sure that the metals that are used in their products have not been extracted by mining companies that have no respect for human rights and the environment”, says Esther de Haan from SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations), the coordinator of the European makeITfair campaign.

Unheard Voices highlights the imbalance between mining companies and communities. One company, Tenke Fungurume Mining – a Swedish/DRC joint venture – relocated hundreds of families to make way for mining to start. But at the time of displacement, no new houses had been built. Families had to wait up to two years, living outdoors or in tents, until their new homes were built. In another incident, the DRC South Katanga Mining Company destroyed 500 homes on the pretext that the camp was inhabited by illegal miners. Thousands of victims, including many children, lost their homes and ended up homeless for a significant period of time.

All companies offered inadequate compensation for the land and houses they took away; they did not offer enough compensation to rebuild homes and acquire new land, while in many cases farmland was destroyed.

The environment has suffered too. Acidic waters were dumped in rivers, which destroyed the natural ecosystem. Pollution of local waterways forced the communities to seek out drinking water from alternative supplies, which were often not working. For example Boss Mining – which is 80 percent owned by African CAMEC – provided drinking water storage tanks that were not filled for long periods at a time.

According to Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba, Director of the DRC Human Rights organisation, ACIDH: “Compensation should not only take into account the costs of the land and houses, but also displacement costs and reimbursement for lost earnings, as well as reimbursement for leaving your land. Only one of the companies consulted the communities, and none of the five researched companies put enough effort into informing the communities properly, asking for their consent in matters concerning their land, families and communities. The issue of free, prior and informed consent is important.”

makeItfair has been calling on electronics companies to take responsibility for their whole supply chain, including the mining of metals such as cobalt and copper. Electronics companies have already shown a willingness and capacity to address the issues arising during the mining phase. This is illustrated by their recent efforts to deal with the civil war in Eastern DRC. While it is encouraging that companies have begun to address armed conflict issues, it is also important that they also address other issues in the mining phase of their supply chain, such as engaging communities that are living on and besides the mining sites.

Download the report