Apple publishes supplier list to offset criticism

Apple has published the full list of its suppliers for the first time and revealed details of a broad standards review, as part of efforts to counter criticism of its employment practices.

The California iPhone maker was criticised last year after workers committed suicide at factories owned by its supplier Foxconn.

Last May, an explosion at a Chinese factory operated by Foxconn, which produces iPad 2 tablet computers, also resulted in the death of at least two workers.

There have further been allegations that Apple's suppliers use underage labour to produce components of products such as the iPhone and iPad.

Apple, which has previously kept details of its supply chain secret, said today that it has upped inspections of factories to ensure fair working conditions are upheld for all employees.

The published list of more than 500 supplies, including the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG, represent 97% of Apple's worldwide procurement expenditures for materials, manufacturing and assembly of products.

"Apple is committed to driving the highest standards for social responsibility throughout our supply base," said the firm in its Supplier Responsibility report.

"We require that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made."

Apple said in its report that it had conducted 229 audits of different factories over the past year, revealing various cases of non-compliance with required standards.

The firm said that in 93 factories some employees had exceeded their "weekly working hour limits", while there were payment violations at 108 sites.

The company also confirmed five factories had employed underage workers, but Apple said that was often due to "insufficient controls to verify age or detect false documentation".

Apple said that it was working closely with all the suppliers in question to ensure these issues were addressed.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for underage labour, and we believe our system is the toughest in the electronics industry. In 2011, we broadened our age verification programme and saw dramatic improvements in hiring practices by our suppliers," said Apple in a statement.

"Cases of underage labour were down significantly, and our audits found no underage workers at our final assembly suppliers."

Apple chief executive Tim Cook, who has reportedly been offered a $376 million (£243m) retention bonus to commit his future to the firm, said that he would like to "totally eliminate every case of underage employment".

"I would like to make a significant improvement in the overtime area. I would like to totally eliminate every case of underage employment," said Cook.

"This is something we feel very strongly about and we want to eliminate totally."

Apple also claimed that it is offered "education opportunities" at its suppliers free of charge, with more than 60,000 workers accessing courses in business, computing, entrepreneurship and English.

"We've also partnered with some local universities to offer courses that employees can apply toward an associate degree," said Apple.

This Thursday, Apple will make an "educated"-related announcement in New York, with reports suggesting that it will be a new digital textbooks initiative.

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