14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has posted its 2010 Supplier Responsibility Report, talking about the progress it is making in this area. The company does highlight every important aspect, such as Supplier Employee Education and Development, Monitoring Compliance and Core Violations, but fails to mention the case of a worker committing suicide over pressure from his employers, strikes, or the reporter beating we heard about a few days ago. One recently-emerged report talks of a worker at a Wintek plant who died of N-hexane poisoning last year.
While some of these occurrences haven’t been confirmed 100%, it is hard to believe they are not true. Apple’s PDF 2010 Progress Report on Supplier Responsibility includes information on the Train-the-Trainer Program at its suppliers’ plants, Supplier Employee Education and Development, Driving Best Practices with Suppliers in Taiwan, Cross-Industry Collaboration in Malaysia, details on in-depth collaboration with the suppliers, Monitoring Compliance, including Core Violations and Corrective Actions, Holding Suppliers Accountable – where Apple requires its final assembly manufacturers to provide quarterly reports of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for social responsibility –, and more.
Talking about violations in particular, Apple says, “In 2009, our audits identified 17 core violations: eight violations involving excessive recruitment fees; three cases where underage workers had been hired; three cases where our supplier contracted with noncertified vendors for hazardous waste disposal; and three cases of falsified records provided during the audit.” It then goes to weigh in on each of these cases.
“Apple continues to improve and expand our supplier responsibility program to ensure that working conditions in our supply base are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity, and manufacturing processes are environ-mentally responsible,” it adds. “To this end, we will:
• Continue to monitor and work with our suppliers to meet Apple’s Code requirements; • Focus on eliminating core violations within our supply base; • Develop best practices and training for Apple suppliers around key issues uncovered in audits, such as foreign contract worker management; • Expand our development of standards that further clarify our Code; • Expand supplier training on workers’ rights for both management and workers; • Continue to terminate business when suppliers have repeat core violations or their practices suggest that they do not take our Code seriously.”
The Mac maker even encourages readers of its report to provide feedback, including the action of reporting a possible violation in Apple's supply base. It includes an email address ([email protected]) that people can use to reach the company.
We're curious: did anyone use this method of reaching Apple for a certain violation of practice and didn't get an answer? If so, let us know in the comments.
Download the PDF Apple Supplier Responsibility - 2010 Progress Report here.