Apple Supplier's Chinese Factory: Staff Allege Unsafe Conditions

In a Catcher Technology industrial facility located in Suqian, a Chinese manufacturing hub roughly six hours by road from Shanghai, employees remain on their feet for as many as ten hours daily inside sweltering workrooms, cutting and sandblasting iPhone shells for Apple Inc., while frequently dealing with dangerous chemicals without adequate gloves or respirators.

Such circumstances—partly documented in a Tuesday report from the watchdog China Labor Watch and partly in Bloomberg News conversations with Catcher employees—highlight the dark side of the technology surge propelling the globe's second-biggest economy. Chinese recruiters emphasize the opportunity to assemble cutting-edge consumer gadgets to draw in millions of generally poor, minimally educated workers, whose labor is indispensable for manufacturing iPhones and other digital devices.

Safety glasses and earplugs are frequently unavailable—a concern given that certain factory machinery generates loud noise and emits fine metal particles or coolant, workers informed Bloomberg. CLW measured sound levels at roughly 80 decibels or higher, comparable to a typical industrial facility or a garbage disposal, per IAC Acoustics, a firm specializing in noise control. Hundreds of people crowd into a workshop whose main entrance opens merely a foot wide. After their shifts, they go back to dormitories littered with trash and lacking showers or hot water. Many employees go days without bathing, workers reported to Bloomberg.

"After a full day's labor, my hands became pale and bloodless," recounted a female employee earning slightly above 4,000 yuan per month (roughly $2 per hour) in her initial position away from her native Henan province. She joined Catcher because her spouse's home-renovation venture was faltering. "I share only positive news with my family and keep these hardships to myself," she stated. Every worker who talked to Bloomberg requested anonymity due to concerns about retaliation.

Staff at Apple's Chinese Supplier Allege Occupational Hazards

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Following a series of suicides in 2010 at its primary partner, Foxconn Technology Group, which sparked public anger regarding the tough workplace conditions under which its premium devices were produced, Apple devoted years to reprimanding manufacturers. Foxconn brought in mental health counselors, established a round-the-clock care facility, and installed large safety nets on factory structures to deter impulsive suicide attempts, as noted in a 2011 Apple progress report. Shortly thereafter, Apple formulated guidelines and initiated inspections of the many firms supplying parts for its products, warning that it would withdraw contracts from those violating labor regulations.

However, the enormous scope of Apple's supply network, together with less measurable elements like living conditions and hygiene, renders oversight and implementation of those rules challenging. Apple currently sells over 200 million iPhones annually, a jump from 40 million in its 2010 fiscal year. By outsourcing production, it enhances profit margins. Late last year, the company simultaneously launched two new iPhone models for the first time, intensifying the strain on suppliers to produce millions of units ahead of the holiday buying period.

An Apple spokesperson stated that the company maintains its own personnel at Catcher sites but dispatched a supplementary team to inspect the facility after learning about the forthcoming CLW report. Following interviews with 150 individuals, the Apple team discovered no indications of breaches of its standards, she said. Catcher, which derives almost two-thirds of its revenue from Apple, asserted in a separate announcement that it similarly conducted an inquiry and found no evidence of violating Apple's conduct code.

"We recognize that our efforts are never complete, and we look into every claim that arises," the Apple representative commented. "We stay committed to doing everything possible to safeguard the employees within our supply chain."

In its 2016 supplier-responsibility report, Apple indicated that it carried out an unprecedented 705 thorough facility audits. The count of top-performing supplier sites increased by 59%, whereas underperforming locations dropped by 31%, the company stated.

'Significant Problems'

During an investigation lasting about three months, which included a covert researcher and interviews with roughly 50 employees, CLW reported uncovering "significant problems" related to occupational health and safety, environmental contamination, and shift schedules at the Suqian manufacturing compound operated by Catcher—a firm that partners with Apple and other corporations to produce components such as iPhone and MacBook casings.

The watchdog claimed that departing workers do not receive their final pay on the day they resign—a practice CLW asserts Catcher is legally obliged to follow in China. Recruitment agencies occasionally prevent contract staff from quitting, and if they persist, those agencies withhold their complete wages, per CLW's report and Bloomberg discussions with employees. Additional discoveries contravened Apple's supplier code of conduct, fell short of Catcher's own declared norms, or merely exposed tough circumstances at the plants, according to CLW. The organization identified no instances of child labor in its latest inquiry.

This marked the second condemnation within under two months concerning a significant Apple supplier. Late last year, Apple disclosed that interns at a facility run by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., a Foxconn subsidiary, had been performing unlawful overtime on iPhone X assembly lines. Foxconn acknowledged that certain interns worked extra hours in breach of its policy and pledged to examine the program to prevent recurrence. Historically, Apple has severed relationships with other plants over overtime and child labor infractions. Hon Hai Precision remains among Apple's biggest suppliers, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Catcher's plants faced examination in 2013 and 2014, when a separate probe by CLW and Green America identified 22 problems, including compulsory, unpaid overtime and mishandling of dangerous substances. At that time, Apple sent a team to look into matters and reaffirmed its pledge to "guarantee safe and equitable working conditions for every individual in our supply chain." The Cupertino, California-based company kept collaborating with Catcher, as indicated by its yearly supplier rosters.

The Manufacturing Site

Catcher began as a specialist in magnesium parts in 1984. It later branched into additional metal components for electronic gadgets, assembling a customer roster that features Apple, Lenovo Group Ltd., HP Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., and LG Electronics Inc. The footage Apple frequently displays of machinery carving single-piece aluminum MacBook bodies mirrors the operations Catcher carries out. Since its 1999 IPO, Catcher's market capitalization has surged over twenty times to exceed $8 billion.

Catcher's production facility in Suqian is a remote compound on the town's west edge, encircled by electrified and barbed-wire barriers. It comprises multi-level workrooms containing computer-numerical-control (CNC) machinery that slices aluminum alloy sheets into iPhone chassis, along with sandblasting stations that provide the iPhone's brushed-metal finish. The site also manufactures parts for other Apple products, such as MacBooks.

Overall, the plants breached 14 of Apple's supplier-responsibility criteria, per CLW, encompassing a failure to warn about the dangers of handling toxic chemicals and compelling new hires on probation to cover the cost of their uniforms.

"Suppliers must furnish and sustain a secure workplace and embed robust health and safety management protocols into their operations," Apple's supplier code of conduct declares. "Employees must be dealt with using the highest degree of dignity and respect," it continues. "Workers are entitled to decline hazardous tasks and to flag unsafe working environments."

'Continuous Labor'

Catcher's factory-floor workforce consists largely of unskilled laborers brought in via recruitment agencies from rural regions throughout China. They journey to the coast to coincide with peak production periods—typically three months during the latter half of the year—before embarking on the lengthy trip home. That spell at a plant, especially one linked to Apple, frequently pays far more than they could anticipate earning in their hometowns. As temporary workers distant from their families, they might be hesitant to challenge supervisors or voice grievances about working conditions out of concern for losing their shifts.

According to CLW, a single assembly line is expected to produce roughly 1,450 units over a 12-hour shift, inclusive of meal breaks. In Bloomberg interviews, employees voiced worries about safety hazards and insufficient instruction regarding the substances they handle. Several workers must rapidly alternate among at least four machines, heightening the likelihood of mishaps, they reported.

"A person must labor ceaselessly without any pause," remarked a 25-year-old employee who is a father to two children.

CLW's inquiry determined that orientation for new hires spanned roughly four hours, in contrast to Catcher's stated 24-hour training mandate for the facility. When employees complete the mandatory exams after training, an instructor dictates the correct answers, CLW noted. Some workers informed Bloomberg that they were instructed to sign documents verifying they had finished the entire training program, even though they had not.

Catcher fails to adequately detail standard operating procedures, leaving employees often unaware of the optimal methods for safeguarding themselves in a dangerous setting, workers told Bloomberg.

Safety Equipment

The employees Bloomberg spoke with reported suffering headaches due to the noise. According to two workers, Catcher did not hand out earplugs to new hires until deep into their initial month. "I requested earplugs repeatedly, but they had none. The intense 'zah-zah' sound caused my head to throb and left me dizzy," one of those workers recounted.

Apple's supplier code of conduct stipulates that suppliers must "identify, control, monitor, and mitigate noise produced by the facility that influences" sound levels at the plant's perimeter.

For staff in the sandblasting unit, Catcher supplies one activated-carbon face mask per day to shield against vapors and dust. However, several workers informed Bloomberg that the masks become clogged rapidly. Supervisors distribute heavier 3M-brand respirators solely when they anticipate an audit, one employee told Bloomberg. The elevated heat inside the workshops renders wearing the 3M masks intolerable, the worker added.

Rubber gloves, intended to protect hands from external liquids, are also scarce and frequently fail to survive a full shift, workers reported to Bloomberg. Some employees said they ultimately purchase cheap disposable plastic gloves—the kind used in kitchens—for self-protection.

"After a couple of hours, the gloves expand and become pliable, as if corroded. The fingers become uncovered," one worker stated. CLW documented inflamed and flaking skin on employees' hands.

Employees additionally grumbled about the odor. Cutting machines are fitted with air filters to eliminate fumes generated during the operation, but workers told Bloomberg that the system operates too slowly. The filters purify the air when workers cut metal roughly every 20 seconds, yet that pace is insufficient to meet production targets, so they claimed they cut more rapidly despite the vapors.

"During the initial days on the job, whenever I opened the cabinet, the odor made me feel sick," said an employee originally from Shanxi province, roughly 300 miles distant.

Apple's supplier code of conduct mandates that suppliers must "identify, assess, and handle occupational health and safety risks via a prioritized approach of hazard removal, substitution, engineering measures, administrative controls, and/or personal protective gear."

Living Quarters

The conclusion of the workday introduces fresh difficulties. As many as eight employees crowd into a tight dormitory room furnished with roughly four bunk beds. During Bloomberg's January visit, outdoor temperatures frequently dropped near freezing, and the workers kept every window closed to retain warmth.

This produced a muggy environment where smells of perspiration, tobacco, feet, and unlaundered garments intermingled. Employees residing in roughly 20 rooms on each floor share a single washing area equipped with 14 cold-water faucets and a large communal toilet—but no shower. To take a genuine bath, they had to walk to a nearby building.

Apple's code of conduct stipulates that employee dormitories furnished by suppliers or external parties must "be clean and secure and offer adequate living space." Catcher stated that the rooms comply with local regulations, but that it is soon to acquire land adjacent to the factory zone and construct new dormitories slated for occupancy next year.

Employees noted that one of the scarce forms of amusement during off-hours is using their smartphones.