Taking a noble cause one step forward, and then two steps back. That’s what I think Mike Daisey has done with his spinning of the truth and lying in creating his monologue ‘The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs’. I have no doubt that a significant part of Daisey’s intentions were noble in creating the show, particularly when he was starting — but all that was wasted, when, in the pursuit of a perfectly dramatic story, he started to make things up. His play was meant to be a serious, considered, sobering look at the ugly, hidden side of how our Apple devices are made. But because he made details, people and stories out of thin air — particularly the ones that plucked the hardest on our hearts — he has ultimately trivialised the real human suffering that does exist in the factories of a developing country. And the worst atrocity was Daisey hiding these stories and instead calling them as facts — because now that the truth has been revealed, the play (and the original This American Life podcast, where he adapted the show into an hour long episode) has been discredited severely.

Most of all, I feel anger and frustration towards Daisey. After initially deciding to tackle a serious humanitarian issue, he surrendered to greed, using dramatic licence to sensationalise the story. His greed has likely set action on the humanitarian issue backwards, not forwards as I think he did set out to do.

With this retraction so heavily publicised, many may be under the impression that there are no under-age workers, that there aren’t people poisoned by chemicals, or that there aren’t terrible living conditions in dorms at Foxconn. Daisey created stories and people that personified these facts, to advance his story in a dramatic way. But whilst those individual stories might not be true, those circumstances, those injuries, that mistreatment of workers is unfortunately still a fundamental truth that exists. Now that the story is all about Daisey’s lies, the ugly truth that Daisey had initially tried to shine a light on has been relegated to insignificance again.

Max Fisher over at The Atlantic epitomises my fears surrounding this pretty much perfectly in this paragraph (though his whole article is also worth a read):

How receptive will they be the next time a reporter writes about how Chinese laborers are forced to stand for so long they struggle to walk, or that some workers weren’t even given gloves to handle poisonous chemicals? Will they believe the reports that say Chinese manufacturers could fix a number of these problems simply by rotating shifts or allowing workers to organize to ask for gloves, neither of which would cost them (or American consumers) anything? Will they bother to listen to the human rights NGOs who say that American consumers can help fix the problem simply by choosing to buy products that are manufactured under better conditions? Or will they think back to Mike Daisey, and wonder who else might be lying to them?

The Truth of the Situation

So what is the truth of the situation? This is an important question given the retraction and media circus surrounding Daisey’s lies. The answer is one we should keep reminding ourselves of, because the truth of the matter is that, whilst Apple is ahead of its competitors in working conditions, safety and anti-discrimination, they are still well behind what is considered acceptable in developed countries. Here are some statistics, lifted directly off Apples own Supplier Responsibility Progress Report from earlier this year:

• 24 facilities conducted pregnancy tests, and 56 facilities did not have policies and procedures that prohibit discriminatory practices based on pregnancy.
• 93 facilities had records that indicated more than 50 percent of their workers exceeded weekly working hour limits of 60 in at least 1 week out of the 12 sample period.
• 67 facilities used deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure.
• A total of 6 active and 13 historical cases of underage labor were discovered at 5 facilities.
• 78 facilities had at least one instance where a workstation or a machine was missing the appropriate safety device such as a gear guard, pulley guard, or interlock.
• 99 facilities had noncompliance in some aspect of their fire prevention, preparedness, and response, such as unmarked fire extinguishers and insufficient fire drills.

I also highly recommend listening to Act 3 of This American Life’s Retraction episode, which further delves into what the truth of the situation really is.

Let’s be Realistic

China is still a developing nation and as is mentioned in Act 3 of This American Life, it would be unrealistic to expect equal standards of a Foxconn factory and one in the US. But we are still a long way off from that threshold of what is an unrealistic expectation of Foxconn and other Apple suppliers – and of Apple itself. They may be doing more than most companies, and we should congratulate them for that, but also stress it is not yet enough. There are still unacceptable breaches of supplier responsibility, as Apple has set out themselves in their reports. Apple, like it does in its products, should always strive upwards to improve its record on the issue.

We should also be putting pressure on other consumer brands to step up to the level of transparency that Apple offers with its supplier responsibility reports and encourage them to do better than Apple at improving standards. Finally, we should be educating each other on the issues, whether it be pointing out what is fact and what is fiction from Daisey’s monologue or discouraging pointless arguments for Apple to move its entire manufacturing base to the US (also see Act 3 of This American Life for a great explanation).

The revelation of Daisey’s lies should not be a cause for relief or celebration. It’s a sad revelation that a man had to further dramatise the sufferings of other human beings in order to get the rest of us to listen and feel sympathy. It’s time we pay attention to the facts ourselves, and make sure we don’t just ignore them.

The ABC’s Nightline program will air on Tuesday a report from Bill Weir that delves inside Apple’s Foxconn factories. ABC News announced the program on Twitter and PCWorld notes that Apple gave Weir “exclusive access” to tour the Foxconn factories, meet with workers as well as interview a “top executive”.

For years, Apple and Foxconn have been synonymous with monster profits and total secrecy so it was fascinating to wander the iPhone and iPod production lines, meet the people who build them and see how they live. Our cameras were rolling when thousands of hopeful applicants rushed the Foxconn gates and I spoke with dozens of line workers and a top executive about everything from hours and pay to the controversies over suicides at the plant and the infamous ‘jumper nets’ that line the factories in Shenzhen. After this trip, I’ll never see an Apple product the same way again.

It’s the latest move by Apple to try and quell the backlash from media and consumers over the treatment of workers at Apple’s suppliers — particularly at Foxconn. Earlier this year they released their 2012 Supplier Responsibility Report a few weeks earlier than previous years. Apple also revealed who their suppliers are and then joined the Fair Labor Association, who are currently conducting an investigation in regards to working conditions at Foxconn.

Exclusive:@BillWeirABC Goes Inside Apple Factories in China to See How the Machines That Changed Our Lives are Made– Tues. 1135pmET

— Nightline (@Nightline) February 17, 2012

[PCWorld via TUAW]

The first inspections by the Fair Labor Association began today at Foxconn City in Shenzhen according to an Apple Press Release issued just a short time ago. It is the beginning of special, voluntary, audits of Apple’s final assembly suppliers that was announced earlier in January this year when Apple joined the Fair Labor Association.

“We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we’ve asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports.”

A team of labor experts led by FLA president Auret van Heerdan will interview thousands of employees at Apple’s suppliers about working and living conditions, health, safety, working hours, compensation and communication with management. Inspections of the facilities and reviews of procedure documentation will also be undertaken in the FLA assessment.

An initial report with early findings and recommendations will be released by the Fair Labor Association and will be followed up by inspections of the Quanta and Pegatron facilities later this Spring. Apple’s full press release is located after the break.

Image via Wired.

(more…)

There is an assumption currently making the rounds that the workers laboring in Chinese factories under terrible conditions are a direct result of Apple’s actions. Some people almost seem to think that Apple is literally enslaving people to work on its products. Needless to say, this is not true.

The fact is that these workers have a choice, albeit a limited one, about where to work. And they are working at factories like Foxconn —which, I remind you, is a wholly separate entity from Apple— because they are better than the alternatives: no job at all, or a job that pays far worse with even harsher conditions.

Think about that. As bad as the stories that we’ve heard about working there are —and make no mistake, they are horrid and no one should have to work under such conditions— the fact that Foxconn has a six-month waiting list of people hoping to become employees seems to suggest that they are still much better than any other opportunity these workers have available.

Given all that, is Apple being ethical by working with a company like Foxconn? A company that, for all its problems, still provides a significantly better alternative to the people clamoring to be hired? I would argue yes.

If Apple were to abandon their involvement with Foxconn and other abusive Chinese suppliers like these boycotts are calling for, what would happen to these workers? The boycotters apparently believe that they would be set free to find safe, well-paid work elsewhere. But if working at Foxconn was already one of the best opportunities they had, that outcome seems unlikely at best.

In reality, they would likely be forced to take a job at another factory with even worse pay and worse conditions. Or perhaps have no choice but to perform peasant work for a fraction of the money they were earning before. Worst case, they may not even be able to find another job at all.

If the goal of a boycott is to assuage the guilt of first-world citizens for buying Apple products made under harsh conditions, Apple leaving China would certainly accomplish that. But if the goal is to make things better for the workers themselves, the only realistic option I can see is for Apple to continue what they’re doing: work with these companies, demand better conditions, conduct audits, and have the workers paid as well as possible for people in their position. 1

Yes, the conditions these workers labor under are terrible. They may have no better choices in their economy, but that doesn’t mean what’s happening there is okay. If first-world companies are going to continue to do business with China and Chinese companies, the only ethical thing for these companies to do is demand continual improvement. And we too should demand as much of those companies whose products we buy.

But the fact remains that as of now, these people will be exploited no matter what we do. Ceasing to provide them better employment opportunities will not help them. Quite the opposite: it will only leave them subject to even worse alternatives. Given that, I believe the best thing we can do is support companies that are taking responsibility for improving conditions and wages for the people that make their products. And right now, the company that is taking the most responsibility…is Apple.

With Apple’s iPhone media event now only a few days away, questions still remain weather Apple will announce a “completely redesigned” device, as several rumors claimed, or a minor revision with improved processor and camera. In the past months, rumors have indicated both possibilities — an iPhone 4S type of device with iPhone 4-like design and better specs, as well as a more powerful handset with a redesigned, thinner chassis.

In an article published earlier today, M.I.C. Gadget claims to have the details behind the proliferation of alleged iPhone 5 cases in China — according to the website, a “lost” iPhone 5 prototype from Foxconn may have ended up being sold to a Chinese case manufacturer, and thus the hundreds of the “iPhone 5 cases” we’ve seen so far.

With its past experience, one might think Apple would have been able to track that prototype down in a heartbeat. However, Apple was outsmarted. The person who had access to the prototype wiped the phone’s software, thus disabling the GPS hardware needed to track it down. It was then allegedly sold to one of the iPhone case manufacturers for RMB ¥20,000 (about $3,100). We were told that Foxconn was aware of the loss and had penalized internal management for the incident. We also heard from another source that the person who “lost” it was paid to do so.

M.I.C. Gadget says the iPhone 5 prototype was a final design, although concealed inside an iPhone 4 enclosure — just like with last year’s iPhone 4 leak, although this wouldn’t explain how a supposedly wider and taller device would fit inside an iPhone 4 case. However, according to the rumor, the device shares the thinner “tear drop” design hinted by This Is My Next back in April. Apple is also believed to have lost a next-generation iPhone prototype in a bar in San Francisco, which triggered a somewhat curious internal police investigation.

Apple is expected to unveil the next-generation iPhone on Tuesday, October 4th.

According to a report by Brazilian website UOL, the Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology, Aloízio Mercadante, has confirmed during a hearing with the Commission of Economic Affairs that the new factory in Jundiaí is “ready”, and already making iPads that will begin shipping in Brazil starting this December.

At first many doubted, but it will be the first time that the company will produce iPads outside Chinese territory. We are taking a big step for digital inclusion in the country,” he said. Mercadante also said that the federal government will announce in the coming days to invest in a big factory of games in the Manaus Free Zone.

Originally scheduled for November, the availability of iPads made in Brazil is the result of a joint effort by the Brazilian government and Foxconn, maker of several Apple devices and peripherals including the iPhone and iPad. A first report from April suggested Foxconn would invest $12 billion in this new factory, with iPad production starting in late August / early September — the timeline seems correct. Additionally, it was reported in June Foxconn had already hired 175 engineers and sent them to China for training on how to build iPads.

Apple is apparently looking for a second manufacturer for its next generation iPad to assist Foxconn who is currently the sole manufacturer of iPads. Taiwanese-based manufacturers Quanta Computer and Pegatron Technology are currently the frontrunners according to DigiTimes and its sources.

Sources say Pegatron, which has reportedly won the iPhone 5 manufacturing tenders, is a more likely candidate for the orders. DigiTimes suggests that part of the reason Apple is seeking a second manufacturer is concerns over their reliance on Foxconn which was highlighted in May when one of their factory buildings saw an explosion and led to limited production for a number of days.

According to DigiTimes, the manufacturer chosen could start manufacturing iPads with the launch of a rumoured iPad HD product that some are suggesting will launch this Fall.

[Via DigiTimes]

In what could possibly be related to the arrest of Foxconn employees back in December, Tuesday, a Chinese court have convicted three individuals with leaking Apple trade secrets and have sentenced them to prison. In March, Foxconn employees that leaked case designs revealing the iPad 2′s shape were convicted of violating Foxconn’s trade secrets–an employee who was previously a manager of MacTop and two others were sentenced on similar charges on Tuesday–case designs were leaked revealing the shape of the iPad 2. Two of the individuals claimed to be Foxconn employees, so they may likely be linked be the same individuals we’ve heard about before.

It said that Xiao Chengsong, general manager of Shenzhen MacTop Electronics Co., had offered 20,000 yuan, or about $3,000, plus discounts on MacTop products to a former Hon Hai employee named Hou Pengna, for information about the iPad 2. The court said Ms. Hou then paid Lin Kecheng, a Hon Hai research-and-development employee, to get digital images of the device’s back cover from last September, six months before the iPad 2 was publicly announced.

Many leaked case designs made their way online before Apple’s announcement, and an iPad 2 was even spotted at this year’s CES. The individuals will serve sentences up to 18 months with fines ranging from $4,500 to $23,000.

[WSJ via MacRumors]

The Wall Street Journal reports Hon Hai has resumed operations at Foxconn’s facility in Chengdu, China, which was hit by an explosion that killed 3 and injured more than 15 workers last month. Soon after the tragedy, both Apple and Foxconn started an investigation to determine the causes of the blast at the facility where iPads are produced on large scale. Reports claimed combustible dust used in the polishing workshops was behind the explosion, though Foxconn hasn’t made the results of its investigation public.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. said Thursday its polishing workshops in China resumed operation this week after an investigation into a deadly combustible dust explosion that killed three and injured 15 workers last month.

The company didn’t disclose findings of its investigation.

Closing the factory led several analysts to believe the worldwide supply chain could suffer a major impact, with Apple losing 500,000 iPad units. Others suggested Foxconn’s Shenzen factory would pick up all missed production from Chengdu, though it wasn’t clear whether Foxconn shifted the production of some components and devices to other facilities or not. The Chendgu plant was said to account for 30% of all iPad production, though as reported by All Things Digital Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White believes production issues may be related to overall supply chain shortages, rather than damages from the explosion itself:

Therefore, the explosion in Chengdu may result in more of an equilibrium situation with certain component vendors, rather than a shortage situation. Netting this all out, we believe the production of iPad 2 will be supply constrained during the June quarter; however, we are not prepared to place the bulk of the blame on the Chengdu operation.

Foxconn’s Chengdu facility was opened last year to shift production away from the main facility in Shenzen, China.

Update: All Things Digital has also posted a full statement from Foxconn on the explosion at the Chengdy facility. The company blames aluminum dust that caused an explosion in a ventilation duct, and says new policies are in place to enhance the safety of the facilities.

Following the tragic explosion in one of the polishing workshops in our Chengdu campus on Friday, May 20, we carried out a detailed and thorough review of all related safety policies and procedures in the polishing workshops of all other Foxconn operations. While the investigation into the tragic explosion that took place at our facility in Chengdu is ongoing, we have addressed the preliminary finding, that the accident was likely due to an explosion of aluminum dust in a ventilation duct, by putting in place improvements in workshop ventilation, a total revamping of the policies and practices related to the disposal of that dust, and through the application of new technologies that will further enhance the safety in these workshops.

Our review and assessment in determining the enhancements covered the areas from the actual polishing work that is done by high-tech robots to the disposal of the aluminum dust that is a by-product of that process. The new measures we are employing in our workshops, which have resumed operation following the review referred to above, are a direct response to our efforts to ensure that we are applying the highest possible safety practices. Should the investigation identify any additional areas where enhancements could be made, we will not hesitate to immediately implement those measures.