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Report: Unfair Working Conditions Persist at Apple Supplier

Workers at one Chinese company make an average of $2 per hour, according to a workers' rights watchdog.

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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Apple continues to tolerate unfair working conditions in some of the factories that make its products, according to a Chinese watchdog group.

Workers at the Pegatron company, an Apple supplier in Shanghai, made $2 per hour on average, according to a report from China Labor Watch, up slightly from $1.85 in 2015.

The group, which regularly releases reports on working conditions in Chinese factories, also accused Pegatron of breaking Chinese labor law by asking its interns to work overtime. Interns had overtime work that totaled 80 hours per month on average, roughly the same amount as full-time employees.

"Currently, Apple is hindering the improvement of labor conditions within the whole smartphone industry," China Labor Watch Executive Director Li Qiang said in a statement. "Apple alone claimed more than 90 percent of the smartphone industry's aggregate profits, while a majority of other firms were operating at a loss. If Apple does not take on responsibility commensurate with its status, other companies will not have the ability to make improvements either."

Noticeably absent from the most recent report was any mention of safety conditions in the factories; China Labor Watch's 2014 report claimed that many workers received no safety training and that fire exits and windows were typically locked.

An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company requires its suppliers to sign a code of conduct outlining safe working conditions, fair treatment of workers, and environmental responsibility. It conducted 640 audits in 2015, according to its latest report, and found that 84 percent of its suppliers complied with its standards, including one facility that employed underage workers.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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