14 DAY TRIAL // A study commissioned by Apple to examine the working conditions at Foxconn and other assembly partners have yielded positive results so far, with Auret van Heerden, president of the FLA, discovering that working conditions at Apple’s suppliers are superior to many others.
A quote from van Heerden selected by iLounge reveals that “The facilities are first-class; the physical conditions are way, way above average of the norm”, said van Heerden.
“I was very surprised when I walked onto the floor at Foxconn, how tranquil it is compared with a garment factory. So the problems are not the intensity and burnout and pressure-cooker environment you have in a garment factory. […] It’s more a function of monotony, of boredom, of alienation perhaps.”
The Fair Labor Association is also investigating the suicides that have cast a bad light on Foxconn over the years.
But according to van Heerden, suicides have been a problem at Chinese factories since the 1990s.
“You have lot of young people, coming from rural areas, away from families for the first time,” he explained.
“They’re taken from a rural into an industrial lifestyle, often quite an intense one, and that’s quite a shock to these young workers. And we find that they often need some kind of emotional support, and they can’t get it. Factories initially didn’t realize those workers needed emotional support.”
At the time Apple announced its initiative, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said “We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we’ve asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers.”
The FLA will continue to interview workers on living conditions, health and safety, compensation, working hours, and communication with their managers. Audits will be conducted at Pegatron and Quanta facilities as well.