Apple cracks down on labor abuses at gadget factories

Apple Inc stepped up audits of working conditions at major suppliers last year, discovering multiple cases of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems.

Workplace abuses were uncovered in an audit that equated to "a full body scan" of three Chinese factories pumping out coveted Apple gadgets, independent investigators reported on Thursday.Employees at each of the factories had exceeded a work-week limit of 76 hours set by Chinese law and, in some cases, worked more than seven days straight without a required 24-hour break, according to the Fair Labor Association.

The New York Times recently published a big story on the improving conditions at Foxconn and

By James Kwak Last week, This American Life ran a story about the Chinese factories that produce Apple products (and a lot of the other electronic devices that fill our lives). It featured Mike Daisey, a writer and performer who traveled to Shenzhen, China, to visit the enormous factories (more than 400,000 people work at Foxconn’s, according to the story*) where electronic products are churned out using huge amounts of manual labor.

If you imagine that age 81 means shuffleboard, golf carts, and sitting on the beach, David Mintz will make you reconsider. The founder and CEO of food brand Tofutti, Mintz works 15-hour shifts, sometimes driving 500 miles a day to visit his factories. He sleeps four or five hours a night and works out every morning.

Workplace abuses were uncovered in an audit that equated to "a full body scan" of three Chinese factories pumping out coveted Apple gadgets, independent investigators reported.Forced overtime at factories led to work weeks breaking the limit of 76 hours set by Chinese law, according to the Fair Labor Association (FLA).In some cased, employees worked more than seven days straight without a required 24-hour break, according to the FLA.

Workplace abuses were uncovered in an audit that equated to "a full body scan" of three Chinese factories pumping out coveted Apple gadgets, independent investigators reported.Forced overtime at factories led to work weeks breaking the limit of 76 hours set by Chinese law, according to the Fair Labor Association (FLA).In some cased, employees worked more than seven days straight without a required 24-hour break, according to the FLA.