Apple updates figure on work week labor compliance
Apple on Wednesday updated its tracking of labor compliance, saying that 95 percent of its supply chain partners now comply with a work week that is less than 60 hours. The company also said the average hours of work per week was under 50.The company initially released its Supplier Responsibility Report (PDF) in January, detailing external audits made in 2012 at factories where its parts and products are assembled. In that report, the figure was at 92 percent. Since then, it has updated that figure every month.The January report came from almost 400 audits performed at all levels of the supply chain -- a 72 percent increase from Apple's audits in 2011, the company said. More on the issues behind Apple productsWhat Foxconn workers have to say about making iPhones'No more iSlave:' An activist fights for iPhone workersThe environmental pitfalls at the end of an iPhone's lifeMining the minerals that go into iPhones (and why it's environmentally risky)Apple has been under the microscope for its labor practices for a while now. Last year, The New York Times printed a scathing account of some of the working conditions at the factories of some of its suppliers, which ultimately won the paper a Pulitzer Prize. Later that year, Apple became the first tech company to open its supply chain to the Fair Labor Association. Correction, 11:21 a.m. PT: This story incorrectly reported the release date of Apple's Supplier Responsibility Report. The report initially was released in January. On Wednesday, the company updated the figure on work week compliance.
