Apple releases 2015 supplier progress report focusing on education, health, and safety

Apple has released its annual supplier responsibility report for 2015 today, touching on the ways in which it has made progress towards ensuring its suppliers workers are treated fairly. Overall, the report focuses on key areas such as health and safety, working hours, and education.

In this years report, Apple says that it performed 633 audits on suppliers in 19 countries, and even made calls to 30,000 workers to ensure they were being treated fairly. On the topic of education, Apple says that it trained 2.3 million workers on their rights throughout 2014, and even launched a new app-based education program using iPads at 10 different sites. Additionally, Apple has made health and safety a top priority by enrolling 156 new suppliers and 392 more participants in its EHS academy, which it launched in 2013 with the goal of increasing education about fire safety, chemical management, and ergonomics.

On the topic of labor rights, Apple notes that it has "achieved 92 percent compliance" with its 60-hour maximum workweek, something for which the company recently came under fire after the BBC aired an undercover investigation into Apple's supply chain last December.

Finally, Apple says that it has made a concerted effort to eliminate bonded labor:

When the labor supply is limited, some suppliers turn to third-party recruiters to secure contract workers. These third parties may charge excessive recruitment fees to foreign contract workers in exchange for jobs. Doing so creates an unjust system that places contract workers in debt before they even begin their jobs.

To protect foreign contract workers, Apple required our suppliers to reimburse US$3.96 million in excess fees to over 4500 foreign contractors in 2014, bringing the total reimbursements to US$20.96 million to over 30,000 foreign contract workers since our program began in 2008. To drive change, we also audited 100 percent of our top 200 facilities that were most at risk of hiring foreign workers, conducting nearly 70 bonded labor assessments.

For much more, including ways in which Apple is looking to reduce its environmental impact, you can check out the full report from the source link below.

Source: Apple

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