Labour rights activists are hoping that Apple will push for sweeping structural reforms at the factories of its mainland contract manufacturers, following initial independent audits at its largest supplier.
Apple has given the green light to independent inspectors from the Fair Labour Association (FLA) to start audits this week at the mainland plants of Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry, its principal contractor whose electronics manufacturing subsidiaries are collectively known under the trade name of Foxconn Technology Group.
'We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we've asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers,' Apple chief executive Timothy Cook said.
A team of labour rights experts led by FLA president Auret van Heerden began the first inspections on Monday at the facility, which assembles iPhones and iPads in Shenzhen known as 'Foxconn City', where a string of worker suicides had occurred in 2010.
These independent third-party audits will also be conducted at the iPad manufacturing site of Foxconn in Chengdu, where an explosion in May last year killed four employees and injured 18 others.
Similar inspections will be done later this spring at the mainland manufacturing facilities run by Quanta Computer and Pegatron, suppliers which are also based in Taiwan. Fifty-nine workers were injured in an explosion in December at the iPad assembly site in Shanghai of Ri-Teng Computer Accessory, a subsidiary of Pegatron.