Aside from occasional gadget lust, I’m not a huge fan of The Little White Behemoth, but two stories about allegations of poor working conditions in Apple’s factories did catch my eye. Boing Boing and Gizmodo both pointed to a 3rd party audit of working conditions in Apple’s factories. The response? Apple’s workers are treated reasonably well, although they work too much overtime.
Congratulations to Apple for running the audit. Let’s hope they follow the recommendations.
I’ve been told that swimming is a pretty Euramerican thing. We’re talking China. Do the workers know how to swim? I didn’t see any mention of swimming lessons in the audit…
Then again, the local maximum for work is 60hrs/week. Unless you’re a high tech worker in Ontario, that would be illegal here. I’ve often thought that stuff sold in place A should be made in working conditions in accordance with A’s labour laws…
Does that mean if your company sells stuff in Norway you should get 25 days paid vactions? What about minimum wages? I’m sure workers in china would love to get our minum wages. I think it’s roughly 6 times what they are making now. Which also will pump the price of your ipod up.
I’ve never really wanted an iPod, so I’m fine with a higher price… 
And a less flippant answer: If production costs in the developing world were comperable to costs here, then it would be more likely that products would actually be built here, improving our economy, and giving Canadians jobs. I also suspect that production costs are a relatively small portion of the price of high end consumer goodies. I would rather pay slightly more for goods produced in ethical conditions overseas (or, even better, produced in ethical conditions locally), than buy cheap crap built in conditions I wouldn’t want to endure.
Apple’s workers are treated reasonably well, although they work too much overtime.
Me too… And I’m not provided with a pool…
MG