Apple Wins Stop Slavery Award From Thomson Reuters Foundation for Its Supply Chain Efforts

[MacRumors]

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts today accepted the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Stop Slavery Award on behalf of Apple at the Trust Conference, an annual human rights gathering.

Apple received the award for its efforts to stop forced labor in its supply chain. Apple has long banned suppliers from requiring workers to pay off debt or withholding passports.

"Just like we have an environmental responsibility, a supplier responsibility, we also believe we have a human responsibility to keep doing what we can."@AngelaAhrendts on @apple's leadership in fighting #ModernSlavery, collecting its #StopSlaveryAward #trustconf18 pic.twitter.com/CwX0xmE1Fz - trust conference (@trustconf) November 14, 2018

Ahrendts told attendees that Apple is teaming up with the UN's International Organization for Migration for an initiative that may eventually help victims of human trafficking to get jobs behind-the-scenes at Apple retail locations.

Apple will not know which individuals are being hired through the program, with participating people set to be hired by Apple suppliers rather than Apple directly to start with.

Proud of this team and the work they do to leave our world better than we found it. Congratulations and thank you! https://t.co/fHKEuMqUOC - Tim Cook (@tim_cook) November 14, 2018

Apple will, however, monitor the initiative, and the company may eventually extend the program to allow human trafficking victims to be hired in Apple retail locations, according to the BBC.

"Though we have only just started, we see huge opportunity to be a beacon of hope for trafficking survivors integrating them into our retail team," Ms Ahrendts said in her acceptance speech.

"These efforts are just a part of a broader set of initiatives to eliminate modern slavery from every part of our company, in every part of the world."

Apple conducts ongoing audits of its supply chain partners and punishes those who are found to be defying the protections put in place for workers. Suppliers who repay fees are put on probation, and those that do not are banned.

More information on Apple's human rights efforts can be found on the company's Supplier Responsibility website.

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Article Link: Apple Wins Stop Slavery Award From Thomson Reuters Foundation for Its Supply Chain Efforts

 

[Mr. Dee]

Yet they have more than a billion slaves to their ecosystem and charging them more for it too.

 

[miniyou64]

Yet they have more than a billion slaves to their ecosystem and charging them more for it too.

I get your point but Im not quite sure that fits the definition of slavery

 

[patent10021]

I thought it said Apple Wins Top Slavery award.

And I took it to mean their factory conditions were so bad they got that award as mockery.

 

[skinned66]

Glad to hear there are no more jumpers.

 

[gnasher729]

Glad to hear there are no more jumpers.

Americans don't jump. They use guns to kill themselves. Around 28,000 a year.
Correction: 20 jumpers on average for the last 80 years at the Golden Gate Bridge. Twice as many than at Foxconn in the worst years.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I applaud Apple’s efforts and progress here and in other social/humanitarian efforts, but I wish they’d put more effort into actually making products worthy of the high price tags they put on them. Or if they only have minor improvements, maybe leave the price alone (or even lower them?)

 

[Zdigital2015]

Shouldn’t that be ANTI-Slavery Award or am I being too critical?

 

[shareef777]

(or even lower them?)

Hahahaha, good one.

 

[Naraxus]

El oh el. Apple's entire product line is dependant on slave labor and Apple wins an award for stopping it?

 

[omihek]

El oh el. Apple's entire product line is dependant on slave labor and Apple wins an award for stopping it?

Of course you would know more than Apple about their own product line.

 

[Naraxus]

Of course you would know more than Apple about their own product line.

It's been well documented they use slave labor

 

[Wanted797]

Sometimes I wonder if there foundations choose Apple for an award simply for the publicity it gets them.

 

[Bin Cook]

Sometimes I wonder if there foundations choose Apple for an award simply for the publicity it gets them.

I am suspicious that a foundation that "fight against modern slavery and for the rule of law" would accept headline sponsorship from Uber, a company that exploits low wage immigrants every waking minute and considered themselves above the law for many years. Lest we forget Thomson Reuters are a journalistic foundation; that must go down well with the journalist targeted for sexual harassment by senior Uber execs.

This award and the foundation behind it simply Western chin-stroking. The companies they laud for being progressive only start to behave in a way considered progressive when it no longer harms the bottom line. See also Mercedes-Benz banning certain metals, but only when it no longer made a cell value turn red in the corporate spreadsheet.

This foundation exists solely for Thomson Reuters and their award winners and partners' benefit - not mankind's benefit. Sure a small African village might get an intern teaching English for three months, but that's only because the intern is doing it to bolster their CV. This is not a philanthropic organisation by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Huntn]

I get your point but Im not quite sure that fits the definition of slavery

Capitalist slaves. For Apple and most of the Capitalist world, why should we pay our own citizens a living wage, when we can have $.50 per hour for labor? And in the US, who argues for elimination of minimum wage standards? Unfettered Capitalism thrives, depends on slave wages for max profit.

 

[s2mikey]

It's been well documented they use slave labor

Sure do - the shareholders demand it. Because evlevnty billion million in profit just doesnt cut it. They must generate Forty two quintillion billion. Hey - I buy some of their stuff and use it but Im fully aware that slave labor is being milked. This cannot be argued so dont try.

Apple isnt the only one doing it but for them to get an award pertaining to NOT doing this is somewhat hilarious. They could EASILY afford to make the stuff here in the USA and pay good wages/benefits but again, the miserable shareholders are never happy.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Hahahaha, good one.

Apple has lowered prices before. Generally it's at the end of a presentation, after revealing their great new product, they say, "Oh, and we've bumped the specs on last year's model by 5% and dropped the price by 5%." It's not earth-shattering by any means, but it's something.

This year they were like, "Here's our new affordable one! There's a lot of compromises, and it's more expensive than last year's ordinary offering!"

 

[T Coma]

Americans don't jump. They use guns to kill themselves. Around 28,000 a year.
Correction: 20 jumpers on average for the last 80 years at the Golden Gate Bridge. Twice as many than at Foxconn in the worst years.

I like puzzles, so I've read through this post numerous times, in search of the hidden point. But I give up. What was it?