Apple has been targeted by human rights groups for the working conditions in factories that build its products. The company responded by saying it monitors the conditions at the facilities it subcontracts for production, and that new inspections in conjunction with the Fair Labor Association were underway.
The FLA said that its preliminary investigation showed better working conditions compared to other factories in China, and Foxconn followed up by giving workers their third raise since 2010.
“I was very surprised when I walked onto the floor at Foxconn, how tranquil it is compared with a garment factory,” commented FLA president Auret van Deerden. “So the problems are not the intensity and burnout and pressure-cooker environment you have in a garment factory. It’s more a function of monotony, of boredom, of alienation perhaps.”
ABC’s Nightline special, “iFactory: Inside Apple,” will air at 11:35PM eastern time on Tuesday, February 21.