Yahoo Finance Explained: Difference in Apple’s reaction to labour challenges in India and China
Labour law violation is a recurring issue that has tarnished images of many prominent international brands over and over again for companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon.
However, Apple shows tendencies in handling these allegations very differently based on location.
Recurring Incidents
On December 12, 2020, employees of Wistron, Narasapura (near Bengaluru), a supplier of Apple, vandalised the factory and vehicles on the premises against allegations of non-payment over a prolonged time.
In China, in 2011, an explosion in one of Wistron’s factories left four employees dead in Chengdu. Another blast in the same year in a different manufacturing unit in China also severely injured 59 workers.
Foxconn is a supplier which produces massive numbers for Apples through its factory in Zhengzhou. China Labour Watch highlighted that more than half of the employees in the factory were temporary, or dispatch workers, when the Chinese labour laws clearly state only 10% of total employees may be retained on a temporary basis.
Meandering past responsibilities
The internal investigations at the Wistron facility in India identified payment lapses. The state government further cemented these reports. The VP of the Indian unit was also laid off for negligence in responsibilities.
Woefully, for the many allegations of labour law violations in China, as continuously highlighted by China Labour Watch, nothing serious has been done by the parent company. The wage rate of many of these Chinese facilities is much below the minimum sustenance requirements.
Different Reactions
While Apple did acknowledge the aspect of recruiting temporary employees that exceed China mandated views on dispatch workers, the company also brushed off its responsibilities.
Despite repeated allegations, the daily wage rate of employees in the Chinese factories is staggeringly lower than the minimum required sustenance necessities. Even though the Chinese Labour Laws mandate a maximum of 36 hours of overtime a week, these employees alleged that more than 100 hours a week is a common practice.
On the other hand, Wistron’s Indian unit has been put on probation by Apple after the internal investigations produced their reports. Apple said that its supplier in India needs to take strict measures to ensure no further lapses of payment or work schedule before it can start producing for them.
What’s going on then?
While the vandalism incident at the Indian factory put everybody on high alert at Apple, more severe allegations of labour law violations from China seem to go unnoticed by the top management.
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