Report on iPod Manufacturing

 富士康真的是血汗工厂吗？请看苹果公司的调查报告！

August 17, 2006
Like many of you, we were concerned by reports in the press a few weeks ago alleging poor working and living conditions at a manufacturing facility in China where iPods are assembled. OurSupplier Code of Conduct mandates that suppliers of Apple products follow specific rules designed to safeguard human rights, worker health and safety, and the environment. We take any deviation from these rules very seriously.
In response to the allegations, we immediately dispatched an audit team comprised of members from our human resources, legal and operations groups to carry out a thorough investigation of the conditions at the manufacturing site. The audit covered the areas of labor standards, working and living environment, compensation, overtime and worker treatment. The team interviewed over 100 randomly selected employees representing a cross-section of line workers (83%), supervisors (9%), executives (5%), and other support personnel (3%) including security guards and custodians. They visited and inspected factory floors, dormitories, dining halls, and recreation areas. The team also reviewed thousands of documents including personnel files, payroll data, time cards, and security logs. In total, the audit spanned over 1200 person-hours and covered over one million square feet of facilities.
To ensure the accuracy of the investigation, the team cross-referenced multiple sources of information from employees, management and personnel records. For example, working hours and overtime reported in the interviews were corroborated with line-shift reports, badge reader logs, and payroll records of those specific individuals to confirm that they were paid appropriately.
We found the supplier to be in compliance in the majority of the areas audited. However, we did find violations to our Code of Conduct, as well as other areas for improvement that we are working with the supplier to address. What follows is a summary of what we’ve learned, what’s already being done in response, and our commitment to future diligence and action.
Labor Standards
The team reviewed personnel files and hiring practices and found no evidence whatsoever of the use of child labor or any form of forced labor. This review included examining security records targeted at discovering false identification papers — an important check for companies serious about preventing illegal employment of any kind.
Working and Living Environment
The manufacturing facility supports over 200,000 employees (Apple uses less than 15% of that capacity) and has the services you’d expect in a medium city. The campus includes factories, employee housing, banks, a post office, a hospital, supermarkets, and a variety of recreational facilities including soccer fields, a swimming pool, TV lounges and Internet cafes. Ten cafeterias are also located throughout the campus offering a variety of menu choices such as fresh vegetables, beef, seafood, rice, poultry, and stir-fry noodles. In addition, employees have access to 13 different restaurants on campus. Employees were pleased with the variety and quality of food offerings.
The supplier owns and leases dormitories that are offered at no charge to employees, provided they help in cleaning common areas to maintain the facility. Workers are not required to live in these dormitories, although the majority do. Our team randomly selected and inspected a wide range of dormitories (both supplier-owned on-campus and off-site leased facilities) that collectively house over 32,000 people. Buildings are separated by gender, with female dorms containing a private bathroom/shower for each room and male dorm rooms typically sharing bathroom/shower facilities. The dorms have TV rooms, potable water, private lockers, free laundry service, and public telephones. Many also have ping-pong and snooker tables, and sitting/reading areas. All of the on-campus dorms have air conditioning. Visitors are permitted in the dorms, although a sign-in process is used for security purposes.
Our audit of on-site dormitories found no violations of our Code of Conduct. We were not satisfied, however, with the living conditions of three of the off-site leased dorms that we visited. These buildings were converted by the supplier during a period of rapid growth and have served as interim housing. Two of the dormitories, originally built as factories, now contain a large number of beds and lockers in an open space, and from our perspective, felt too impersonal. The third contained triple-bunks, which in our opinion didn’t provide reasonable personal space.
To address this interim housing situation, the supplier acquired additional land and is currently building new dormitories. These plans were in place prior to our audit, and will increase the total living space by 46% during the next four months.
Compensation
Our investigation confirmed that all workers earn at least the local minimum wage, and our sample audit of payroll records showed that more than half were earning above minimum wage. Employees also have the opportunity to earn bonuses. In addition, the supplier provides a comprehensive medical plan including free annual checkups.
We did find, however, that the pay structure was unnecessarily complex. An employee’s wage was comprised of several elements (base pay, skill bonus, attendance bonus, housing allowance, meal allowance, overtime), making it difficult to understand and communicate to employees. This structure effectively failed to meet our Code of Conduct requirement that how workers are paid must be clearly conveyed. The supplier has since implemented a simplified pay structure that meets the Code of Conduct.
We also discovered that the process for reporting overtime was manual and monthly, and while not a violation of the Code of Conduct, it was subject to human error and relied too much on memory for dispute resolution. To address this issue, the supplier will link the payroll system and electronic badge system, which will automate the recording of hours worked and pay calculations. This update will be completed by October 1.
Overtime
We found no instances of forced overtime and employees confirmed in interviews that they could decline overtime requests without penalty. We did, however, find that employees worked longer hours than permitted by our Code of Conduct, which limits normal workweeks to 60 hours and requires at least one day off each week. We reviewed seven months of records from multiple shifts of different productions lines and found that the weekly limit was exceeded 35% of the time and employees worked more than six consecutive days 25% of the time. Although our Code of Conduct allows overtime limit exceptions in unusual circumstances, we believe in the importance of a healthy work-life balance and found these percentages to be excessive.
The supplier has enacted a policy change to enforce the weekly overtime limits set by our Code of Conduct. The policy change has been communicated to supervisors and employees and a management system has been implemented to track compliance with the Code of Conduct. Supervisors must receive approval from upper level management for any deviation.
Worker Treatment
Employees work in factories that are generally bright, clean and modern with air-conditioned assembly line areas, and are provided with protective gear. There’s an employee grievance process in place, including a telephone hotline, a CEO mailbox for complaints and employee suggestion boxes.
Our interviews with employees revealed areas of both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. A majority of employees interviewed were pleased with the work environment and specifically noted the opportunity for advancement, widespread year-end bonuses, and the reputation of the supplier in the industry. Additionally, employees consistently mentioned that they felt safe and secure in both the workplace and the dormitories.
Employees expressed dissatisfaction with some aspects of the workplace. The single largest complaint (approximately 20% of interviewed workers) was the lack of overtime during non-peak periods. The second largest complaint (less than 10%) was the transportation schedule for employees living in off-campus dorms, which they felt was inadequate outside of working hours. Results of the interviews have been shared with management, and will be addressed where appropriate. For example, the transportation schedule is being reviewed for adjustment.
During our interviews with employees, we explicitly asked every line worker whether they had ever been subjected to or witnessed objectionable disciplinary punishment. Two employees reported that they had been disciplined by being made to stand at attention. While we did not find this practice to be widespread, Apple has a zero tolerance policy for any instance, isolated or not, of any treatment of workers that could be interpreted as harsh. The supplier has launched an aggressive manager and employee training program to ensure such behavior does not occur in the future.
The Future
Recognizing that some aspects of workplace auditing (such as health and safety) lie beyond our current expertise, we’ve engaged the services ofVerité, an internationally recognized leader in workplace standards dedicated to ensuring that people around the world work under safe, fair and legal conditions. We are committed to ensuring compliance with our Code of Conduct and will complete audits of all final assembly suppliers of Mac and iPod products in 2006.
We recognize that monitoring compliance is an ongoing process requiring continual progress reviews. When violations are discovered in any supplier, we will require corrective action plans, with a focus on prevention and systemic solutions. We will also ensure that action plans are implemented and in cases where a supplier’s efforts in this area do not meet our expectations, their contracts will be terminated.
We are encouraged with the actions to date in response to our audit. However, we realize that auditing compliance is only one step in the journey toward driving change. We have also joined theElectronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) Implementation Group, which has established industry-wide standards and offers valuable resources for evaluating suppliers. The EICC was a key benchmark when our own Code of Conduct was created and as an industry leader, Apple will make important contributions to this group.
Apple is committed to the highest standard of social responsibility in everything we do and will always take necessary action accordingly. We are dedicated to ensuring that working conditions are safe and employees are treated with respect and dignity wherever Apple products are made.
 
中文版
关于iPod制造的报告
和许多人一样，我们非常关注几周前有关iPod中国制造厂工作条件恶劣的指控。我们的供应商行为准则“Supplier Code of Conduct”（供应商行为准则，译者注）要求所有苹果产品供应商遵守其中条款，以达到保护人权及环境、保障工人健康及安全的目的。我们对执行该准则要求非常严格以防任何偏离。
作为回应，我们很快派出一个由人力资源部、法律及运营部门组成的调查小组，亲赴富士康龙华工厂展开调查，范围涉及劳动标准、工作及生活环境、薪酬、加班及劳工待遇等。调查小组随机访问了100多名工人，其中83%的一线工人、9%的工长、5%的管理人员及3%的后勤人员（包括保安及门卫）。调查小组还现场调查了厂房、宿舍、食堂及休闲区等，查阅了数千份文件，包括个人档案、工资条、打卡纪录及安全日志等。总体而言，调查小组的工作时间超过1200个人力小时(person-hour)，现场查看区域超过100万平方英尺。
为了保证调查结果的准确性，调查组综合参考了员工、管理层等各种来源的信息。例如，工作时间及加班数据综合参考了值班报告、工资记录等各方面信息，以证实工人获得了适当报酬。
调查组认为，在大部分调查项目中，该供应商遵守了苹果的规定，但调查组的确发现了违反“供应商行为准则”的行为及需要改善之处，调查组正与该供应商着手解决。以下是调查结果及对该结果的反馈。
劳动标准
调查组查阅了个人文档并监督了招聘过程，未发现任何雇佣童工或强制劳动的行为，调查方式包括检查是否存在伪造的身份文件等。这是一项非常严格的检查，以防止公司有任何非法雇用行为。
工作及生活环境
该制造厂拥有超过20万名员工(其中从事苹果产品制造的不足15%)，相当于一个中型城市。厂区内有工厂、员工宿舍、银行、一家邮局、一家医院、超市和足球场、游泳池等众多休闲设施、电视机房及网吧等。整个厂区遍布多家员工自助餐厅，食物品种丰富，包括新鲜蔬菜、牛肉、海鲜、米饭、猪肉、面条等。此外，厂区还有13家各具特色的餐厅供员工选择。员工对食物的种类和质量均感到满意。
该供应商自建宿舍或者在外租用宿舍免费提供给员工居住，并要求员工负责公共区域的清洁。尽管该供应商未强制要求，但大部分工人都住在宿舍。调查小组随机检查了大量宿舍(包括厂区内宿舍及在外租用宿舍)，涉及员工超过3.2万人。宿舍按男女划分，女员工宿舍有单独卫生间，男员工宿舍一般为公用卫生间。宿舍内配有电视房、私人柜子、免费洗衣服务及公用电话。许多宿舍楼还配有乒乓球室、台球室、阅览室等。厂区内的宿舍全部安装了空调。来访者可进入宿舍，但出于安全考虑，他们在签字后方可进入。
调查组在厂区内宿舍未发现违反“供应商行为准则”的情况，但调查组对访问的三家厂外宿舍的居住环境感到不满。这些房屋是供应商在员工人数激增的情况下作为临时宿舍为员工租用的。其中在两间原本是为工厂建设的宿舍，调查组看到一个开放区域内放置了大量床位和柜子，从调查组角度看，这种环境过于缺乏隐私。第三间宿舍包括三层床位，我们的意见是不适合提供给人居住。
为了解决临时宿舍问题，该供应商已购买了新土地并正在建设新宿舍楼，此项计划在调查之前就已制定完毕，在未来四个月内，新宿舍楼可将厂区的居住面积提高46%。
薪酬
调查小组证实，所有工人的工资均达到当地最低工资标准，调查组查阅的工资记录显示，至少一半工人的收入超过了最低标准。除了工资，员工还有机会获得奖金。此外，该供应商还提供一年一次的免费体检等综合医疗福利。
但是，调查小组发现，该供应商的工资结构过于复杂。员工工资包括基本工资、技能奖金、考勤奖金、食宿补贴、加班费等，计算方式较难与员工解释并沟通。这种工资结构明显违反了“供应商行为准则”有关向员工明确传达工资计算方式的要求。不过，该供应商已按照“供应商行为准则”要求，采取了更为简单的工资计算方式。
调查组还发现，加班时间主要通过人工方式按月计算，虽然这种做法未违反“供应商行为准则”，但可能出现人为失误，出现争议时也缺乏文字记录证明。为解决此问题，该供应商将把工资系统与电子打卡系统联网，自动计算加班时间及加班费。这项系统升级工作将于10月1日完成。
加班
调查组未发现强制加班情况，受访员工也证实，他们即使拒绝加班也不会受到处罚。但调查组发现，员工加班时间超过了“供应商行为准则”有关最高每周工作60小时、至少休息一天的规定。调查组检查了多个产品线工人7个月的加班情况，发现35%的人的每周工作时间超过“供应商行为准则”上限，25%的人一周连续工作六天。尽管“供应商行为准则”允许在特定情况下出现加班超时情况，但调查组认为保持工作与生活的平衡至关重要。
该供应商已颁布了新规定，以执行“供应商行为准则”对每周加班上限的规定，该规定已向工长及工人传达。该供应商将实施一项管理制度，监督对“供应商行为准则”的执行情况。特殊情况下，工长必须经过上一级管理层的批准才能采取有违规定的措施。
员工待遇
员工工作的工厂总体来说明亮、干净、现代化，装配线区域配有空调，并提供了保护用具。工厂设有员工投诉程序，包括热线电话、负责接收投诉的CEO邮箱和员工建议箱。
调查组对员工的采访发现既有满意的地方又有不如人意之处。大多数受访员工对工作环境感到满意，特别是晋升的机会、范围较广的年终奖金、供应商在业界的声誉等方面。此外，员工经常提到他们在工作地点和宿舍都感到安全。
员工对于工作地点的某些方面表达了不满。抱怨最多的是在工厂淡季加班不足，大约占受访工人的20%，抱怨第二多的是对住在厂外的员工的交通安排，员工们感到下班后车次安排不足，有此抱怨的大约占受访工人的不到10%。采访结果已与管理层沟通，将在适当情况下解决。比如，班车时刻正在进行检查调整。
在采访员工时，调查组明确地问过方方面面的工人，他们是否受到过或者看到过令人不快的纪律惩罚。两名员工表示他们曾被要求立正站立。虽然调查组并未发现这种情况很普遍，但苹果实施的是零容忍政策，任何粗暴对待工人的事例都不能容忍。该供应商已经启动了积极的经理和员工训练计划，以确保此类行为不再发生。
未来
鉴于对工作场所某些方面的检查（比如健康和安全）超出了我们目前的能力，我们已邀请Verité提供服务，Verité是国际公认的工作标准方面的领袖，该机构专注于确保世界各地的人们能够在安全、公平和合法的条件下工作。我们承诺确保符合我们的行动守则，将在2006年完成所有Mac和iPod最终装配供应商的检查。
我们认识到监督供应商遵守守则是一个持续的过程，需要持续的审查。如果发现该供应商违反守则，我们将要求该供应商拿出整改行动计划，我们注重预防和系统性的解决方案。我们还将确保行动计划的实施，如果该供应商在这方面的行动没有达到我们的预期，供应合同将终止。
目前为止，该供应商针对审查的采取的行动令我们感到鼓舞。然而，我们认识到审查是否遵守守则只是促成变化的一步，我们已加入电子工业行动守则（EICC）实施机构，该机构已建立业界标准并提供评估供应商的有价值的资源。EICC是一个我们行动准则制订的重要标尺，作为业界领袖，苹果将对这一机构做出重要贡献。
苹果承诺在所做每件事上都承担最高标准的社会责任，并将始终采取必要的相应行动。我们致力于确保所有生产苹果产品的地方工作条件安全，员工得到尊重和尊严的对待。