Apple says it’s asked the US-based Fair Labor Association to conduct audits of its final assembly suppliers, including Foxconn factories that produce iPhones and iPods in the Chinese regions of Shenzhen and Chengdu. The first inspections took place yesterday morning.
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 inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports.”
The FLA will interview employees, review employment documents and will inspect manufacturing areas and living conditions. Its first set of findings and recommendations will be published in early March.
Apple itself has carried out annual audits of every final assembly factory in its supply chain since 2006.