Is There Such A Thing As An Ethical iPhone?
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
iPhone fans have created a petition calling on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 to be one that is ethically assembled. But the bigger issue is can there ever be an ethical iPhone?
The online campaign that has so far gathered 155,000 signatures calls on Apple to treat its Foxconn workers better, to “release a worker protection strategy for new product releases”, arguing that assembly workers are more prone to work-related injuries when stress levels are high.
iPhone fans have created a petition calling on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 to be one that is ethically assembled. But the bigger issue is can there ever be an ethical iPhone?
The online campaign that has so far gathered 155,000 signatures calls on Apple to treat its Foxconn workers better, to “release a worker protection strategy for new product releases”, arguing that assembly workers are more prone to work-related injuries when stress levels are high.
“Every time a Foxconn worker is killed or disabled making an Apple product, Mr. Cook bears personal moral responsibility,” wrote Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, the campaign’s executive director.
She added:
[quote] In many cases, people literally are dying while making Apple products. Reporters have documented cases of deadly explosions at iPad factories, and repeated instances of employees dying of exhaustion after working thirty to sixty hour shifts. In some of the factories Apple contracts with, so many employees have attempted suicide that management installed nets to prevent employees from dying while jumping off building ledges. [/quote]The petition follows a recent New York Times exposé on the tough working conditions of employees on the assembly front, especially with manufacturers like Foxconn which recently saw 300 workers threaten a mass suicide.
Related News: China “Suicide” Company To Outsource Dorms Etc.
Related Story: Are Corporate Values Still Relevant, or Clichéd?
The Times report instigated a response from Apple’s new Chief Executive Tim Cook, who said:
[quote] Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is a cause for concern. Every year we inspect more factories, raising the bar for our partners and going deeper into the supply chain. As we reported earlier this month, we have made a great deal of progress and improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers. [/quote]Related Infographic: Apple’s Cash Can Bailout Greece
However, Apple is not the only company that engages the controversial electronics manufacturing company.
Foxconn has factories across Asia, Europe and South America and assembles almost 40 percent of the world’s electronic products, and counts companies like Dell, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard as its biggest customers. With over a million employees, and less than a quarter of them building Apple products, it can only mean the problems surrounding ethical work environments are a lot wider than previously thought.
