Apple has just issued a report of auditing trips it made to China in 2010 to inspect conditions at its manufacturing plants, including Foxconn. Apple found underage employees in 10 of 127 factories there. One supplier had 42 underage workers and Apple terminated its relationship with that company. The report contains a section about the suicides at Foxconn facilities. Among the recommendations Apple is making is better training for on-site counselors. The report also documents cases of “involuntary labor”:
Apple noted that some suppliers work with recruiters who charge outrageous fees to workers from countries such as the Philippines and Thailand. Workers cannot pay the fees without going into debt, which then requires them to work in a sort of forced labor. Apple demands that recruiters refund fees that are greater than one month’s wages — even workers who aren’t building Apple products.
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