[聲明] 蘋果電腦繼續「卸膊」 拒絕承擔企業社會責任

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2014/03/01

今日(2月28日),蘋果在美國舉行一年一度的股東大會。大學師生監察無良企業行動趁此機會再此促請蘋果電腦立即採取有效行動,履行企業社會責任,改善其產品供應商及代工廠的勞動狀況。

儘管蘋果電腦在2014年財政年度的首季營業額錄得576億美元進帳,純利高達130.1億美元[1],不過在流水線上日夜趕工的工人卻未能分得任何成果。蘋果最近公佈的供應商企業社會責任報告自吹自擂各項功績,可是SACOM質疑工人是否真正有所得益:

1. 取巧的工時控制成果

蘋果電腦宣稱其代工廠在控制每周工時不超過60小時方面的成效平均達95%。首先,「平均」的意思十分空泛。而且,代工廠在「異常或緊急情況下」的工時是不在此限的。這個政策漏洞容許代工廠在生產高峰期瘋狂加班。工時過多的源頭根本就是蘋果的零存貨政策。此外,蘋果根本沒有理會現行中國勞動法對於每周工時最多不能超過48小時的要求。

SACOM 在2013年的調查中,發現最少一間蘋果代工廠在工人入職時要求工人簽署自願加班申請書,說明了廠商有辦法為蘋果的查廠人員提供「合法」的證據,證明工人自願加班[2]。

2. 缺乏工人參與的整改計劃

蘋果電腦宣揚自己在創立蘋果代工廠環境、健康與安全(EHS)學院的功勞。報告指長達18個月的學習計劃有60間代工廠的240個管理人員參與,能讓 27萬工人得益。計劃要求參加者學以致用,在回到工廠時運用所學開展計劃。實際上,前線工人只是「被代表」,沒有參與其中;而且參加者在回廠之後的計劃內容以至計劃是否有推行過等都是無從證實的。

SACOM 批評蘋果電腦所謂的整改及教育計劃取巧失實,欠缺透明度,計劃成效及其對工人所能產生的正面作用更是成疑。

3. 消失了的工人選舉及工人代表

蘋果電腦聲稱為確保工人聲音得到充份反映,舉辦多個培訓計劃,協助工人與管理層之間的溝通。可是,這些培訓計劃只限管理層參與,工人都被排拒在外。

SACOM對於蘋果電腦的長期生產夥伴富士康於2013年5月公開違反其工廠工會改選的承諾感到非常失望。在此之後,受蘋果電腦委託的公平勞工協會(FLA)就富士康位於成都、龍華和觀瀾工廠的整改計劃核實報告對勞資關係處理方面更是絕口不提。

我們相信暢通無阻的溝通是解決蘋果電腦生產鏈內各項勞工問題的最佳辦法。前線工人應有機會參與各項培訓計劃,蘋果電腦更有責任支持工人依照中國工會法自由結社,協助他們成立真正有效的工會。

4. 漠視學生工遭受剝削

過去有不少調查報告[3]揭示學生工被強迫在蘋果電腦代工廠實習,參加與本科教育無關的實習工作,被剝奪接受教育的權利,更有剋扣工資等情況發生。可是蘋果電腦在報告中竟厚顏無恥地辯稱對此全不知情,並將責任諉於職業訓練學校,指它們沒有履行責任,為實習學生和實習機構做好配對工作及沒有提供合適的支援,也沒有為品牌、代工廠及學生提供足夠的參考資料。

SACOM 對蘋果電腦企圖推卸責任感到憤怒!試問營業規模如此龐大,對產品質素、生產過程都要求極高的跨國企業,怎可能不察覺學生工在其代工廠所受的各種無理剝削? 蘋果電腦為確保充裕勞動力繼續包庇代工廠剝削學生工的做法實在令人髮指!

5. 將生產工序連帶用工責任外判給供貨商及工人

蘋果電腦在報告中說得漂亮,稱它們的企業守則是行內其中一份最嚴格的守則,而且一直積極推動代工廠落實執行。不過,我們從報告亦得知蘋果電腦只承擔了EHS 學院的部份營辦經費。我們相信蘋果電腦將各項整改計劃的成本都轉嫁到代工廠身上。

眾所周知,蘋果電腦在外判貨單的壓價能力極高,代工廠賺得相對地低的代工費,更要自掏腰包,執行蘋果電腦的各項企業社會責任計劃。於是,代工廠也將各項成本轉嫁到工人身上。例如,代工廠在履行蘋果的企業守則對工人宿舍和膳食的要求時,往往向工人收取更高的宿舍費,甚至是強制的膳食費。

SACOM 譴責蘋果電腦只為外判貨單,而在代工廠執行整改計劃時拒絕提供合適的資源及協助!

    SACOM 要求蘋果電腦:
  • 檢討及重整現行之零存貨政策,給予代工廠充裕的生產時間,並依照現行中國勞工法規,控制工時;
  • 提高代工單價,給予代工廠空間,從根本層面改善勞動狀況;
  • 向代工廠提供必要的資源及協助作工人培訓及相關整改計劃;
  • 支持工人建立依照中國工會法建立有效、能代表全體工人的工會;
  • 立即正視學生工遭剝削的問題,依法保護學生工及保障學生接受優良教育的權利;
  • 尊重公眾知情權,公開更多查廠資訊,包括負責查廠的機構資料、因違反蘋果電腦企業守則而正受監察的代工廠名單等。

大學師生監察無良企業行動 (SACOM) 2014年2月28日

[1] 根據2014年1月27日出版的蘋果電腦2014年首季財政報告,蘋果首季營業額錄得高達57.6億美元;純利達13.1億美元。收入主要靠在全球賣出5,100萬部 iPhone、2,600萬部 iPad 、600萬部iPod及480萬台 Mac 電腦。資料來源:iPhone 和 iPad 銷售錄得營業額及營運利潤 (Sales Drive Record Revenue and Operating Profit),https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/01/27Apple-Reports-First-Quarter-R...

[2] 大學師生監察無良企業行動。2013年報告:Stains on iPhones’ Cover Glass – Dehumanized Working Condition of Biel Crystal for Apple’s Products。

[3]大學師生監察無良企業行動於2013年出版的Apple fails in its responsibility to monitor suppliers報告亦有揭露學生工受剝削的情況。

------------ [Statement] Well-polished Apple’s CSR report is just another fairytale for workers

Hong Kong, 28 February 2014

On the day of Apple’s annual general meeting, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) is urging Apple again to take immediate and constructive action to fulfil its corporate responsibility by improving the working conditions in its suppliers.

Despite respectable quarterly revenues of US$57.6 billion and a net quarterly profit of US$13.1 billion in the first quarter of its fiscal year of 2014[1], the company is unwilling to share its success with frontline workers – those who turn its ideas into real products. Apple’s newly published Corporate Supplier Responsibility (CSR) Progress Report projects an ideal workplace at Apple suppliers, yet we doubt workers are enjoying any benefit at all:

1. The ambiguous achievement of reducing excessive work hours Apple praises its success in driving its suppliers to reach an average of 95 per cent compliance of their 60-hour workweek. The concept of “average” is vague. The exception of “unusual or emergency circumstances” is indeed a loophole of the policy, denying that the root cause of the problem is Apple’s zero inventory policy. In addition, Apple is still ignoring the weekly work hour limit of 48 hours maximum as required by Chinese Labour Law.

From our investigation in 2013, we discovered at least one Apple supplier required workers to sign overtime work application on the first day of the employment training, as a way to produce “legitimate” evidence to fulfil Apple’s audit requirement[2].

2. Absence of workers in Apple’s top-down remediation programmes Apple claims for its contribution to improve working condition in suppliers by setting up the new Apple Supplier Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Academy. It says the 18-month programme has included 240 management personnel from 60 suppliers and covering more than 270,000 workers. The programme “[p]articipants are… required to apply their knowledge to create and implement real-time projects at their facilities” (P. 8). However the project progress back in the factories remains unknown.

SACOM criticises Apple for playing with numbers with such an opaque programme and doubts its efficiency and positive impact to the workers.

3. The vanished commitment of elected worker representatives in Apple suppliers Apple states that it is “making sure workers’ voices are heard” (P. 9) by launching manager training programmes to facilitate communication between workers and managers. However, the programmes are again manager-oriented and workers’ participation is absent.

We are disappointed by Apple’s long-term production partner Foxconn’s denial of its trade union re-election pledge in May 2013. Since then, industrial relations is no longer part of the Fair Labor Association’s verification status report on Foxconn factories in Chengdu, Longhua and Guanlan.

SACOM believes that effective communication is the key to tackling the root cause of problems in Apple’s supply chain. Frontline workers should be included in training programmes and Apple has the responsibility to support workers’ freedom of association as entitled by the China’s Trade Union Law and to set up effective trade unions in its suppliers.

4. Refusal to admit its responsibility for student interns exploitation There have been various investigative researches[3] discovering the exploitation of student interns in Apple’s suppliers. They are forced to work in the factories though irrelevant to their studies, giving up their rights to receive a quality education. Their wages are even cut under the name of “internship fee”. Apple acts as if it was innocent of the exploitation of student interns in its suppliers. It blames the vocational schools for “often fail[ing] to perform the necessary due diligence to match students with appropriate internship opportunities or provide them with adequate support” (P. 13), and makes the excuse that students, suppliers and electronics companies (e.g. Apple itself) do not have access to sufficient available data of the vocational schools.

SACOM finds it completely absurd that such a big transnational company, which cares so much about every production detail, would not know the mismatch and exploitation of students to receive a high quality internship opportunity. It is outrageous that Apple is allowing their suppliers to exploit student interns to maintain their workforce stability.

5. Outsourcing its production tasks and accountability to suppliers and workers Apple says its code of conduct is “one of the toughest in the electronics industry” (P. 4) and is playing an active role to push its suppliers to fulfil them. However, from Apple’s CSR report, we know that it is only supporting some cost of the EHS Academy. We believe that suppliers have to cover the major cost of other training and specialised programmes.

Apple is known for its ability to maximise its profit margin; as a result suppliers are earning little for each order and must cover all costs to fulfil Apple’s CSR programmes and schemes. Meanwhile, suppliers are also transferring their costs to workers. For instance, Apple’s Code of Conduct has a clear requirement regarding dormitory and dining. Yet in order to fulfil it, suppliers would ask workers to pay higher dormitory rents and compulsory meal fees.

SACOM condemns Apple for outsourcing its orders while refusing to give appropriate resources and assistance to suppliers to improve working conditions in the factories.

    SACOM’s demands to Apple:
  • To review and restructure their zero inventory policy to give appropriate production time to suppliers and control work hour as required by Chinese Labour Law;
  • To increase higher and reasonable pay to suppliers, tackling problems from root causes and allowing more space to suppliers to improve working condition;
  • To provide necessary resources and assistance for worker training and related remedial programmes to suppliers;
  • To support workers to build democratic trade union committees as entitled by the Chinese Trade Union Law;
  • To correct the exploitation on student interns now, protect student interns as required by the Law and protect students’ rights for a quality education;
  • To respect the public’s right-to-know by disclosing further audit information such as auditing agencies involved, and the list of suppliers that are under probation due to violation of Apple’s Code of Conduct.

Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM)

[1] According to the 2014 Q1 financial result released on 27 January 2014, Apple made a huge revenue of US$ 57.6 billion and a net profit of US$ 13.1 billion by the sales of 51 million iPhones, 26 million iPads, 6 million iPods and 4.8 million Macs all over the world. iPhone and iPad Sales Drive Record Revenue and Operating Profit. Retrieved from: https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/01/27Apple-Reports-First-Quarter-R...

[2] SACOM (2013), Stains on iPhones’ Cover Glass – Dehumanized Working Condition of Biel Crystal for Apple’s Products.

[3]One of the reports is Apple fails in its responsibility to monitor suppliers by SACOM (2013).

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現在已經沒有「蘋果電腦」,只有「蘋果公司」了喔~~~