It appears that the signatures collected to ask Apple to produce the iPhone 5 in an ethical manner have been successful. Tim Cook finally speaks out on the matter and takes another step to investigate the working conditions of Foxconn workers in China through a voluntary audit that the Fair Labor Association will carry out. The inspections started this week at Foxconn's factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China and will later take place at the Quanta and Pegatron plants, more specifically at the end of this spring.
“We believe that workers around the world have the right to a safe and fair work environment, and that is why we have asked the FLA to independently assess the behavior of our main suppliers,” he says. Tim Cook in the statement from Apple.
During the investigation, Fair Labor Association officials will interview thousands of factory employees and ask them questions related to their "life, including health and safety, pay, hours of work and communication with their bosses." The first report will be published in early March.
You have the full statement from Apple after the jump:
CUPERTINO, California - February 13, 2012 - Apple today announced that the Fair Labor Association will conduct, at Apple's request, special voluntary audits of suppliers of final assembly of Apple products, including Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, in China. A team of labor law experts led by the president of the FLA (Fair Labor Association), Auret van Heerden, began the first inspections on Monday morning at the Shenzhen factory known as Foxconn City.
“We believe that workers around the world have the right to a safe and fair work environment, and that is why we have asked the FLA to independently assess the behavior of our top suppliers,” says Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate that the FLA has agreed to take the unusual step of identifying factories in their reports."
As part of this independent assessment, the FLA will interview thousands of employees about their working and living conditions, including health and safety, compensation, hours of work, and communication with their bosses. The FLA team will inspect both factory work areas, dormitories and other facilities, and thoroughly review procedural documents at all phases of employment and work.
Apple's suppliers have committed their full cooperation with the FLA, offering unrestricted access to all of its facilities. The conclusions of the FLA and its recommendations after the first audits will be published in March on its website, www.fairlabor.org. Similar inspections will take place at the Quanta and Pegatron factories later this spring and, once completed, the FLA assessments will have covered factories where more than 90 percent of Apple products are assembled.
Each year since 2006, Apple has audited every assembly plant in its supply chain, including conducting more than 40 audits at Foxconn's manufacturing and final assembly plants. Details of Apple's Supplier Responsibility program, including the results of more than 500 factory inspections conducted by Apple across its supply chain in the past five years, are available at apple.com/en/supplierresponsibility.
In January, Apple became the first technology company to be admitted to the Fair Labor Association. The FLA conducts independent monitoring and verification to ensure that the Standards set by the FLA with respect to Workplaces are met at all facilities where the products of FLA-affiliated companies are manufactured.
Apple designs Macs, the world's best personal computers, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple is at the forefront of the digital music revolution with its iPods and the iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and the App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with the iPad.