Apple target of protest
Protesters plan to descend on Apple stores around the world today to protest about labour conditions in the company’s manufacturing facilities in China.
The issue has become a thorny one for Apple after the factories that make its products suffered worker suicides in 2010 and explosions in 2011. A recent report in The New York Times contained graphic descriptions of cramped working conditions and the concerns of workers who said they were suffering injuries from repetitive motion and exposure to chemicals.
The protesters have collected more than 250,000 signatures from users on sites such as Change.org and Sumofus.org. The petitions will be delivered to the company, while demonstrations will be held in New York, San Francisco, Washington, London, Sydney and Bangalore.
Many of the top electronics manufacturers, including Dell, HP and Microsoft, use some of the same suppliers as Apple, but activists have singled out Apple, because its devices have soared in popularity, transforming the company into the most valuable in the world.
Some of the protesters acknowledge that they own Apple devices. One petition, which carries almost 195,000 signatures, asks Apple: ‘‘Please make these changes immediately, so that each of us can once again hold our heads high and say, ‘I’m a Mac person’.’’
Apple has said it is working to bring factory conditions in line with company standards. The company put about one million workers through education programmes on working hours, wages and labour rights.
‘‘We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain,’’ Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said.
‘‘We insist that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made.’’
In January, Apple published a company audit of its supply chain. That found 62 per cent of the 229 facilities were not in compliance with the company’s policies regarding a maximum 60-hour work week.
In addition, 44 per cent did not implement the company’s required ergonomic risk assessments, which would prevent repetitive injuries.