Contracts with suppliers with poor working conditions were either not terminated or terminated only after a delay.
Factory in china (symbol image)
Officially, Apple takes a tough stance on child labor and claims to terminate contracts with suppliers immediately if violations occur. In practice, however, this requirement is not always met, reports The Information.
Waited three years
Accordingly, the manufacturer is said to have become aware of child labor at the Chinese supplier Suyin Electronics, which manufactures HDMI and USB ports for MacBooks, in 2013. Suyin promised improvement, but a further check reveals that underage workers were found again.
Apple did not place any new orders with the supplier. Until the business relationship was actually resolved, it took 3 years, during which ports for older MacBooks were still being obtained, as the online medium reports, citing former Apple employees.
Not many suppliers are able to meet Apple's quality and quantity requirements, according to the ex-employees of the group. Finding a replacement in the short term is difficult. If this resulted in delays in products or higher costs, Apple delayed contract cancellations or refrained from terminating contracts.
Another example
The Information also provides another example. Apple also criticized the working and environmental conditions at the supplier Biel Crystal, which manufactured glass screens for the iPhone. However, even a year later, there were still no improvements in many of the criticized points.
The contract with the supplier remained in place. Biel Crystal was one of two providers for the displays and Apple didn't want to be dependent on just one supplier for the purchase of the screens. This would presumably have resulted in price increases.
An Apple spokesperson told The Information that Apple “has the strictest standards in the industry to ensure that employees in the supply chain are treated with dignity and respect.”
