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bjbjLULU JEFFREY BROWN: And we turn to a pledge to improve working conditions at one of Apple's
major suppliers in China. As Apple surged toward its status as the world's most valuable
company, the calls for it to account for how its wildly popular iPads and iPhones are made
have grown. Last month, the California-based firm announced it had asked the Fair Labor
Association, a monitoring group, to investigate Foxconn, Apple's main contract manufacturer
in China. Foxconn works for dozens of other firms as well. Altogether, it produces some
40 percent of the world's electronics, with a work force of 1.2 million. In a report about
Foxconn released yesterday, the FLA cited excessive overtime, exceeding 60 hours a week,
and problems with overtime compensation, several health and safety risks and crucial communication
gaps that have led to a widespread sense of unsafe working conditions among workers. The
findings shed light on allegations of unfair labor practices that had triggered protests
at Apple stores. MARK SHIELDS, activist: Apple has changed the way we listen to music, how
we see movies, how we use our iPhones, how we use our computers. They have the creativity
and the capital to make this better. They can make their products without horrible human
suffering. JEFFREY BROWN: The FLA also laid out recommendations that included a maximum
60-hour workweek and changes to Foxconn's overtime compensation policy. In a statement,
an Apple spokesman said -- quote -- "We appreciate the work the FLA has done to assess conditions
at Foxconn, and we fully support their recommendations." For its part, Foxconn vowed to cap workweeks
at 49 hours, hire thousands of new employees, and improve safety. Earlier today, I talked
to Auret Van Heerden, the head of the Fair Labor Association, who oversaw the investigation
and report on Foxconn's labor practices. Mr. Van Heerden, welcome. Now, you cited the fact
that some 43 percent of the workers had experienced or witnessed an accident. So these are very
dangerous places to work, right? AURET VAN HEERDEN, CEO, Fair Labor Association: Yes
and no. The 43 percent shouldn't be taken as an accident statistic. It's a perception.
And, in fact, when we drove down, we found that Foxconn had put in place all of the formal
procedures that you need to manage the accident risks in those facilities. What they're missing
is the communications piece. They're not getting that message across to workers, and they're
not winning the confidence and the trust of workers as far as the safety of the health
-- and the health of the workplace is concerned. JEFFREY BROWN: Now, you also cited long working
hours and insufficient wages to make a living. Can you give us some specific examples of
things you heard? AURET VAN HEERDEN: So, workers in peak periods are working upwards of 60
hours a week. Something between 60 and 70 is the norm at the peak. But some are working
beyond that. And, even more importantly, sometimes they're working as much as 10 or 11 days straight
without a day off. So, that's clearly a period where they re suffering from fatigue and the
risk of accidents increases. JEFFREY BROWN: When you add this up, were you surprised,
and how would you assess the seriousness of the violations you found? AURET VAN HEERDEN:
We weren't surprised. I must say that these are pretty much the range that we normally
find in Chinese factories. And given Foxconn's size and their resources, they actually are
making much faster progress than most of the factories that we work with. JEFFREY BROWN:
And what of Apple? Do you see Apple as an honest broker here and sincere in its desire
to bring change? AURET VAN HEERDEN: They are. They're very engaged. ve been to Apple with
top management. We have had very, very detailed discussions about our findings and about the
remedial items. And Apple have been at the table at all of those discussions and pushing
hard for these improvements. JEFFREY BROWN: Another issue in the report was worker representation.
Now, you found that unions and other worker groups were typically dominated by people
chosen by the company, and not the workers themselves. How important a finding was that?
AURET VAN HEERDEN: We think it's a very big part of this story, because it's typical for
Chinese trade unions and Chinese factories to have committees that are selected by management.
And even if there is an election process, the nominees are really handpicked by management.
And so you end up with a committee that should be reflecting workers' concerns and workers'
needs, but it's made up of people who come from the ranks of management. So it's just
not achieving its objectives. And what we found in many different dimensions is that
workers aren't aware of issues. They're not -- if they are aware of it, they don't believe
it. And so there's a credibility gap between a lot of the good work which is taking place,
a lot of the good policies and procedures, and workers' perception of those same policies
and procedures. JEFFREY BROWN: So when you look at the agreements made by Foxconn, do
you think it has the potential to set a new standard, both for the Western tech industry
and for their factories in China? AURET VAN HEERDEN: I do. I think the potential impact
is huge. And, for me, that's really the most exciting part of this story, to see how Apple
and Foxconn and the FLA can come together and come to agreements which will directly
improve the lives of 1.2 million workers, and indirectly set the bar for the rest of
the sector, because if you think about it, as soon as Apple and Foxconn improve the wages
and working conditions of these workers, workers will flock to Foxconn from other factories
in the area. And so their competitors will be obliged to improve their terms and conditions
in order to attract and retain workers. And so we kick off a race to the top, instead
of the race to the bottom that so often dominates. JEFFREY BROWN: Of course, Foxconn has apparently
agreed to changes in the past, and we know there have been audits by Apple in the past.
Is there any assurance that, this time, there will be real change through follow-up monitoring
and verification? AURET VAN HEERDEN: Yes. I think we have two assurances here. The first
is that the FLA will continue to monitor the implementation of these commitments. We have
detailed action items, hundreds of them. We have the names of the people responsible.
We have the deliverable and the deadline. And we will be sending our assessors back
periodically to update and verify the status of those action items. But, secondly, they
ve made this commitment publicly. And the media and the consumers and the external stakeholders
are all going to be watching very closely to see whether they live up to them. And I
really don't do not believe that Apple and Foxconn would have made this kind of commitment
if they weren't planning on delivering. JEFFREY BROWN: So your sense is that public interest
and public pressure really has had an impact, these companies have felt it? AURET VAN HEERDEN:
Absolutely. I think the consumer interest is critical to this. JEFFREY BROWN: Auret
Van Heerden is the head of the Fair Labor Association. Thanks for joining us. AURET
VAN HEERDEN: Thank you very much. urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags State urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
country-region urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags place JEFFREY BROWN: And we turn to a pledge
to improve working conditions at one of Apple's major suppliers in China Normal Microsoft
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