36 Chinese Environmental Groups Condemn Apple: It Ignores Labour Rights And Interests.

Apple suppliers are accused of ignoring environmental protection and labor rights, apple said.

"No matter where Apple products are produced, apple promises to ensure the highest standards of social responsibility."

Yesterday, a report on the heavy metal pollution of the IT industry, entitled "the other side of apple", was released, pointing to the US Apple Corp.

The survey by the public environment research center, Dahl asked the natural knowledge society and friends of nature three Chinese folk environmental protection organizations, involving 36 environmental organizations, said that the apple with beautiful appearance is behind the unknown side: pollution, violation and poisoning, and the employees of apple producing products suffer from toxic chemicals.

The financial times yesterday quoted Apple spokesman Steve Dowling (Steve Dowling) as saying that Apple has strict auditing procedures in the investigation of other parts of the supplier and business supply chain, including auditing suppliers of its suppliers.

The report also enclosed a seal.

Investigation from Apple "dodge"

The report quoted 11 cases involving 8 companies, covering a period of time from 2008 to 2010.

According to the survey report, Apple's commitment and performance in the supply chain, such as occupational safety, supply chain environmental protection and labor rights and dignity in the supply chain, have a huge gap.

Ma Jun told the Morning Post reporter that 34 environmental organizations, led by the public and environmental research center, conducted rounds of surveys on 29 IT brands including apple, issuing first, second and third reports. However, during the 9 month long project, Apple has been evasive in its previous survey.

"At that time, only apple did not respond to our reports, and other enterprises responded to our survey more or less, so we are prepared to investigate apple."

Ma Jun said.

In Apple's official website, there is a saying in the code of conduct of suppliers: Apple promises to ensure safe working conditions in the supply chain, to ensure that workers are respected and dignified, while ensuring that the production process is accountable to the environment.

In 2010, Foxconn employees jumped the building case and really pushed apple into the vortex of public opinion.

At that time, an Apple user wrote e-mail to Apple CEO Jobs, calling on Foxconn to pay attention to Foxconn suicide, and said, "apple can do better."

Jobs responded that although every suicide is a tragedy, Foxconn's suicide rate is significantly lower than the average Chinese number, and apple is also watching this problem.

Later, some users questioned Jobs's understanding of "apple is also watching this problem." Jobs confidently said, "you should educate yourself, we are doing more than any other company on this planet."

Obviously, in the eyes of Apple leader Jobs, apple is the best from every aspect of product to supply.

"Infringed supplier staff"

If you want to list Apple suppliers, most people will think of Foxconn.

The company, which had 12 suicides in 2010, shocked the whole country.

As early as the second half of 2009, the touch screen supplier in Suzhou, joint construction (China) Technology Co., Ltd., had employees suffering from bodily injury due to illegal operation of manufacturers.

The company located in Suzhou Industrial Park was invested by Taiwan Shenghua Polytron Technologies Inc in November 1999.

Public information shows that this factory is an important supplier of Apple Corp touchscreen.

In August 2008, the construction company suddenly asked employees to wipe the mobile phone screen with n-hexane instead of alcohol, because the evaporation rate of hexane was faster than that of alcohol, which is conducive to improving work efficiency, and the effect of cleaning is superior to that of alcohol, which can reduce the defective rate.

Ma Jun said.

According to the survey report, the joint building company's workshop is a closed dust-free workshop, poor air mobility, in the absence of effective protection of employees, in the second half of 2009, many employees found themselves physically unable to grasp things, the hospital diagnosed as the upper and lower limbs circumference peripheral neurogenic damage, and the source is fast evaporation of hexane.

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The report quoted Guo Ruiqiang, a 27 year old Henan employee who was injured, said that when the pain was most painful, his hands and feet were weak. When he wiped the glass, he felt that his fingers were not listening. When he was admitted to hospital, he was identified as moderate poisoning. "He thought he could be identified as an occupational disease with a disability grade nine, but in the end he was only identified as a grade ten."

Guo Ruiqiang said.

It is understood that the nine grade disability can be awarded 160 thousand yuan, while the ten level is only 100 thousand yuan.

After a nightmare encounter, hundreds of employees chose to leave.

There are poisoning workers said, "because the company also wants you to leave", each person signed an agreement, what happened after all has nothing to do with the company, "they are using life and health in exchange for the eighty thousand or ninety thousand yuan, many people are helpless to go."

The staff of the Apple Corp recalled that the representatives of the Apple Corp also visited the joint construction, but never told the workers that hexane was toxic. During the course of treatment, Apple Corp did not have any communication with them, let alone visit their sick friends.

In fact, it is not just a joint operation of a company that has committed irregularities.

The Suzhou safety production supervision and Administration Bureau issued the occupational hazards warning and forecast information in March 17, 2010. It said that the Department of operations between April 2009 and January 2010 had caused 8 employees suspected of occupational poisoning.

Like the joint construction, Yun Heng Hardware is also lack of facilities for ventilation and detoxification, and lacks protection for employees.

It is reported that the main work of Yun Heng Hardware is to wipe Apple logo and film.

Because Apple Corp is highly confidential about supply chain environmental management, apple did not confirm the supplier company when the environmental protection organization verified apple.

The Morning Post reporter contacted a staff member of Suzhou Yu Han optoelectronic technology company, who admitted that the company was indeed one of Apple's suppliers, but declined to comment on any "poisoning caused by illegal subcontracting business".

Self confidence drives disregard?

The survey report pointed out that Apple suppliers are also unable to effectively protect their environmental protection and workers' rights and dignity, not only in terms of occupational safety.

The report cited 5 examples of joint construction technology, Dongguan Fugang Electronics Co., Ltd., Dongguan Wan Shi Da, Dongguan Sheng Yi Electronics Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou South Glass Co., Ltd., which have great impact on the environment in terms of waste discharge, large quantities of hazardous waste and excessive emissions.

For example, according to the announcement of the Dongguan Environmental Protection Bureau, Dongguan Sheng Yi Electronics Co., Ltd. produced 7831.98 tons of hazardous waste in 2009, the largest sum of the total number of hazardous waste enterprises in Dongguan, and the total sum of more than second or third.

Another Pc Limited in Dafu, Changshu, asked women workers to take their belts and accept security checks at work.

Ma Jun told the Morning Post reporter that Apple's "secret culture" has been passed on.

Because of the great success of the product, Jobs shifted his confidence from product and technology to supply environment and social responsibility unconsciously, so that we would have a high profile of "we do far more than any other company on the planet".

Ma said that apple is the most inactive communication among the 29 IT brands. SIEMENS and SONY have been actively communicating with environmental protection organizations after the third phase of the research report, discussing supply chain management and so on. Only apple has consistently said that Apple will not disclose any suppliers' information, and require environmental protection organizations to prove the relationship between joint construction and Apple's supply.

Asked about future plans, Ma Jun said he hoped Apple Corp could have an account like other brands. "If Apple is still silent, no response will be made, including some partners who will send more content to let consumers know about it."

Some cases in the survey report

Supply chain occupational safety

Case 1 joint construction technology: poisoning workers leave lifelong illness

Case 2 Yun Heng Hardware: layers of subcontracting, poisoning spread

Case 3 Dongguan Wan sta: staff medical examination, many people need to review.

Supply chain environmental protection

Case 4 joint construction technology: hazardous waste loss

Case 5 Fugang Electronics: serious offense, fined 100 thousand

Case 6 Dongguan Wan sta: rapid expansion leads to pollution aggravation

Case 7: Sheng Yi Electronics: produce a lot of hazardous waste, exhaust gas nuisance and complaints repeatedly

Case 8 CSG group: many subordinate companies have excessive emissions.