School Falsifies Documents For Children to Build iPhones

Apple’s annual report revealed that 137 people in China were poisoned making its products, while 91 children worked in factories making Apple goods. The latter figure is particularly disturbing. This isn’t a knock on Apple at all, but a total knock on China. Perhaps I’m being naive, but I have a serious problem with a country where it’s common for a school to falsify documents for children so that they can build iPhones.

Here are more details from The Guardian:

The report says Apple found 91 children working at 10 facilities. The previous year it found 11 at three workplaces.

It ordered most to pay the children’s education costs but fired one contractor which was using 42 minors and had “chosen to overlook the issue”, the company said. It also reported the vocational school that had arranged the employment to the authorities for falsifying student IDs and threatening retaliation against pupils who revealed their ages.

Apple said it had strengthened its checks on age because of concerns about the falsification of ages by such schools and labour agencies. It also audited 127 facilities last year, mostly for the first time, compared with 102 in 2009.

Due to multiple Foxconn employees committing suicide, Apple has been paying close attention to its manufacturing partners in China. I’m happy that the company appears to be taking an active role at preventing child labor and improving conditions for employees. Still, there’s only so much a foreign company can do. This whole thing just makes me sad and wish that I could live without goods that were made in China.

Source

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

23 thoughts on “School Falsifies Documents For Children to Build iPhones”

    2. Yeah there is. "American" companies should stop making their shit in China where they know this kinda stuff happens all the time.

      1. Like I posted though, that should help show that they don't really care that it happens—they care about their public image which is why they are acting like they care now.

  2. I feel like they are only doing something about this now because there are people watching and scrutinizing everything. If no one was paying attention I doubt they would be doing anything about this. It's all about the public image.

    No matter what though it is a bad situation and children shouldn't be working in any capacity, especially forced labor.

    1. Look around your home and notice the multitude of things built in China. You won't find reports those companies funded in an effort to shine a light on this.

      Long an short, using this as an excuse to point a finger at Apple is exactly the opposite of my reaction. I'm more worried about all the other companies who know this is going on… and don't care because it's cheap labor.

      I now wonder how many children it took to make the ashtray I just used, or the coffee mug I just drank from. These are things made by a small enough company that nobody will care where these products are made.

      Also, the people who endorse and started using these companies from America… are NOT bleeding-heart liberal democrats (I'm just saying). These are indeed the same people who make too much money to not be Republican and it is indeed the bleeding heart liberals who think I shouldn't have bought the ashtray I used only because I shouldn't choose to smoke.

      I'm a non-partisan.

      1. Oh it's not just Apple, I would say the same thing about any other company that outsources. I'm not judging them for using outsourced labor, child labor, adult labor, expensive labor, cheap labor, etc. My only point is that they care about the public image a lot. We as consumers don't really care where our products come from until we are forced to think about it (ex- whenever we hear about something like this in the news). Then we the public and they the producer begin to care because they got caught doing something we were more than happy to turn a blind eye to until somebody put it in the news.

        Now, I am not exactly in favor of child labor. Like I said, it is something that children shouldn't be forced in to. With that being said it has never stopped me from making a purchase, and I never was trying to imply that- specifically with Apple.

      2. Do me a favor, and name one consumer company that DOESN'T care about their public image.

        My point is, the reason it's being narrowed down to Apple right now is because they are popular. So popular, they get scrutinized for actually caring.

        There's also a difference between turning a blind eye, not being informed, and being misinformed. We are turning a blind eye to the fact that we know stuff like this goes on when we buy the cheap things we buy anyway when we know perfectly well that practices like this. We just don't know exactly where and when so we think of it as a gamble (in a sense) when we buy anything made in China (like shoes).

        We are usually not informed of where and when it occurs, therefore we don't think about it at the checkout line.

        We become misinformed when a company says they take notice of this and don't condone, when in fact it happens anyway.

        Some people see the giant green head and call it the Wizard… other people look for the man behind the curtain. Some folks think David Blaine is some sort of sorcerer with supernatural powers… and other people watch closer. There is a performance going on in every store in America, how we view it is up to us.

      3. It's not isolated to America.

        Aside from child labor there is also the issue of conflict minerals. You don't hear about that one very often. Every tech company in the world has to deal with this. Hell, even non tech companies that use those minerals for whatever have to address it from time to time.

        Personally it's a shame but it comes with the global economy. Might sound cold hearted but if a kid put my iphone or tv together then so be it. He/she did a good job.

      4. That's a loaded question. Of course everyone cares about it though. But if you re-read my original comment on this you would see that I said: "If no one was paying attention I doubt they would be doing anything about this. It’s all about the public image." That is still my main argument. They care about the public image only because people are looking. No one is looking at other corporations right now, they are looking at Apple. If the media was focusing its attention on Company Y right now for their child labor issues which are undoubtedly happening at this very moment, then it would be Company Y that was only interested in the public image.

        You are right, we see of others what we want to see and what we choose to see. I don't believe that most major corporations really care about these issues, but for the sake of their image they must care when it comes to a time of being scrutinized like this.

      5. Of course it was a loaded question, that was the point.

        My point to your point's counterpoint (or vice versa, or something like that)… is that why does the media attention really matter? Either the issue matters, or it doesn't.

        To only focus on a particular piece of the puzzle when the media shines a light on it… is indeed turning a blind eye to the bigger picture.

      6. I agree, that is turning a blind eye to the bigger picture. But that is also part of my point—too many of these corporations do turn a blind eye to it all. If they didn't then I doubt we would see all of this in the news in the first place because (in this particular instance) Apple would have looked into these issues before ever having Foxcon and other manufacturing areas actual produce their materials. Everything would have been fully researched before production was ever started or contracts for production were ever signed. Not to say there couldn't be any mistakes ever, but I don't think any mistakes that would be made would cause as much of a commotion in the media as this is now.

        Totally got that you were purposely asking a loaded question, what kind of debate would it be if there wasn't at least one of those? haha. And in keeping with that I of course had to call it out as such.

    1. True and noted… but I just thought it seemed less likely for someone who's willing and for taking a higher tax cut because the make so much money to get involved with stuff like this.

      I mean… that's why people hat Obama… tight? Or is it the other reason?

      1. It's just a bad stereotype is what I alluded to. If you go by the popular perception that all red states are full of mouth breathing hillbilly republicans who can only afford to shop at WalMart then it kind of belies the Repubs are loaded while Dems live at the poverty line.

        Some of the wealthiest Americans are Dems. Jobs, Buffett, half of congress (haha), Heinz, Soros, etc.

        Not poking fun at you or trying to call you wrong. Your statement just made those thoughts run through my head. In my personal experience living where I do and working in the financial sector for many years…I have come across considerably more wealthy liberal minded folks than bible thumpers/repubs/conservatives/etc.

        Damn media.

      2. That's one of the things that gets me about the hillbilly republicans. Don't they realize that the economic platform of that party is geared against them?

        I got my issues with democrats too.

        Ultimately, I believe the whole thing is a facade in order to keep America divided. Most people subscribe to whatever party they subscribe to simply because their parents were/are that party. I cannot tell you how many times my mom has yelled at me over politics. It always ends the same way too. She's mad as hell saying "Well, I can't logically disagree with you… but your not going to convince me of anything else." and I laugh at the concept. She's kinda left… okay pretty damn left.

        See, my personal irony is that I pick out the flaws which become apparent to me based on the fact that I realize perfection is impossible and I've made my peace with that.

        If you read that sentence closely, the irony is devastating.

      3. You do realize that the two party system with the two platforms that we have is there in order to keep Americans divided over the slightest things? In the broad scheme of things Democrats and Republicans are quite close on a chart detailing all of the political inclinations that exist in the world. Yes there are big differences in the way some things are done, but they are by no means polar opposites like each party would lead you to believe. They do that in order for us to keep a two party system while pitting people against each other and forcing them to believe all of one side or the other, therefore ensuring themselves to stay in control with the current style of government.

      5. Or the poverty line dems who have listened to the same party for 60 years telling them they will make them richer. hasn't happened yet huh?

        that line is stolen from Charles Barkley actually lol. I don't know how to feel about quoting him outside of using turrible.

  5. Hey! Do you like cheap electronics, or what?

    Unfortunately, your $199 iPhone would cost closer to $800 if it were made here thanks to labor, cost of goods, overhead, regulation, marketing, and transportation costs.

    What baffles my mind is that it cheaper to manufacture AND transport a good internationally from a country that is thousands of miles away than it is to produce and truck it locally in the U.S. I guess labor, overhead, and regulation costs are a much bigger piece of the pie than transportation, huh?

    -M

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