U.S. watchdogs accuse Chinese Apple supplier of unsafe work conditions

Catcher Technology Co

04/09/2014 15:00

By Se Young Lee 
    Sept 4 (Reuters) - Working conditions at a Chinese factory 
supplying parts for Apple Inc  AAPL.O  iPads and MacBooks are 
dangerous and have even deteriorated since they were highlighted 
a year ago, two labour watchdogs said on Thursday. 
    Apple, however, said many of the problems were corrected 
after an inspection last week. 
    U.S.-based China Labor Watch and Green America said in a 
joint statement that an investigation last month at Catcher 
Technology Co Ltd (Suqian), part of Taiwan-based Catcher 
Technology Co Ltd  2474.TW , had found hazardous working 
conditions, with flammable aluminium-magnesium alloy filings 
scattered on the factory floor, and fire exits and windows 
locked. 
    Workers did not receive proper safety training and were 
exposed to toxic chemicals as they were not provided with 
protective equipment "in a timely manner or at all," the groups 
said.  
    A 25-page report on the factory investigation, the latest of 
several to criticize Apple suppliers over recent years, comes 
just before the expected launch on Tuesday of the new iPhone 6. 
Apple has also come under fire this week for lax security 
systems after photos of celebrities stored in individual iCloud 
accounts were leaked online.  ID:nL1N0R3198  
    China Labor Watch investigated the same factory in 2013 and 
found multiple labour rights and safety violations. It said 
Apple had then promised reforms by Catcher to improve 
conditions, but the companies had not delivered.  
    "In fact, the investigator going into the factory in 2014 
discovered numerous additional violations that weren't found in 
2013, as well as repeat violations from year to year, suggesting 
that conditions may actually be getting worse in the factory," 
the groups said in their report. 
    In a brief emailed statement, Catcher said: "We are deeply 
concerned about the claims made by China Labor Watch, and we 
take the report very seriously. We are committed to following 
Apple's supplier code of conduct and will investigate 
thoroughly." 
    In a separate statement, Apple praised the Suqian facility 
for consistently exceeding international safety standards.    
    "As a result of our quarterly fire-safety inspections, the 
most recent of which happened last week, Catcher has made 
same-day repairs of broken and expired fire extinguishers, 
unblocked corridors and fire exits, and added missing emergency 
exit signs," the statement said. 
    Apple said its annual audit in May had found "some concrete 
areas for improvement" at the factory, and it worked with 
Catcher on a plan to correct them.  
    "We had scheduled a follow-up visit next month to review 
their progress but have dispatched a team there immediately to 
investigate this report," Apple said. 
     
    UNDER SCRUTINY 
    In previous reports on Apple's China-based supply chain, 
factories owned by Taiwan's Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai 
Precision Industry  2317.TW , were accused of mistreating 
workers, particularly after a string of employee suicides. In 
2011, three people died in a combustible dust explosion at a 
Foxconn facility in Chengdu, China. 
    Factory safety has come under close scrutiny in China 
following an explosion that killed 75 people at an auto parts 
plant in the eastern province of Jiangsu last month. The blast, 
which also injured 185 people, occurred when a flame was lit in 
a room filled with metal dust at the factory, which supplied 
parts for General Motors Co  GM.N  and other automakers. 
 ID:nL4N0QA3YA  
    After the explosion, China suspended work at more than 200 
factories in Jiangsu province, home to Catcher Technology's 
Suqian facility, for safety checks as part of a nationwide 
review.  ID:nL4N0QD0NE  
    The watchdogs' report said that after last month's Jiangsu 
explosion, supervisors at Catcher had specifically mentioned the 
high flammability of the plant's aluminium-magnesium alloy and 
the need to take precautions to prevent fires.  
    "But, after this announcement, no new measures were taken to 
improve fire prevention or worker safety," the report said. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Ian Geoghegan 
and Lisa Von Ahn) 
 ((vincentsy.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704 5646; Reuters 
Messaging: vincentsy.lee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: APPLE CHINA/LABOUR