From Debby Wu and Ganesh Nagarajan’s “Apple Puts India iPhone Maker on Probation for Labor Violations” posted Wednesday by Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. put Foxconn Technology Group’s factory in southern India on probation following worker protests and an investigation that revealed substandard living conditions.
Foxconn, which uses the facility to assemble iPhones among other gadgets, apologized for the lapses in health standards and pledged to revamp its management and operations in the country. The factory, located in Sriperumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai, was shut down after the protests and will resume operations once “necessary improvements” are made…
“Following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn Sriperumbudur, we dispatched independent auditors,” an Apple spokesperson said. “We found that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms being used for employees do not meet our requirements and we are working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions are rapidly implemented…”
The Tamil Nadu government said on Saturday that Foxconn had agreed to expand living areas, upgrade bathing facilities and provide drinking water, acceding to employees’ demands, and will resume operations soon.
My take: Seems like anybody assembling iPhones ought to have clean drinking water, although I can imagine that in parts of southern India, delivering potable water in quantity be a challenge.
2 Comments