Apple, Samsung and Sony Face Child Labor Claims

It's so sad that children as young as seven are working in the mines and no one seems to care. This is just terrib....hey, is that a new iPad Pro?

Human rights organisation Amnesty has accused Apple, Samsung and Sony, among others, of failing to do basic checks to ensure minerals used in their products are not mined by children. In a report into cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it found children as young as seven working in dangerous conditions.

At what point does a supply chain extend back far enough that the companies at the other end aren't responsible for checking it out? Some of these materials will change hands dozens of times. Are Apple, Samsung or Sony supposed to expend the resources to research every hand it passes through? Or do you simply tell your suppliers your standards and check them out periodically? The only way any of these companies could be absolutely sure that working standards are being followed would be to control every aspect of the manufacturing first hand. But then everyone would cry that they were a monopoly and crushing out competition.

Dwango said:

At what point does a supply chain extend back far enough that the companies at the other end aren't responsible for checking it out? Some of these materials will change hands dozens of times. Are Apple, Samsung or Sony supposed to expend the resources to research every hand it passes through? Or do you simply tell your suppliers your standards and check them out periodically? The only way any of these companies could be absolutely sure that working standards are being followed would be to control every aspect of the manufacturing first hand. But then everyone would cry that they were a monopoly and crushing out competition.

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as a multi-billion dollar company its called having control over your supply chain and know where your costs come from so yes

If Apple, Samsung, and Sony don't own those mines, it's not their problem. Go harass the mine owners Amnesty what-ever.

amddragonpc said:

If Apple, Samsung, and Sony don't own those mines, it's not their problem. Go harass the mine owners Amnesty what-ever.

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Except the NGOs have learned long ago that corporate shaming works more effectively (for their ends) and is much easier ... I am kind of on the fence on this extreme corporate responsibility kick ... I do believe that corporations should be responsible for their first tier of suppliers ... however, since a metal mine could be 2-4 tiers down in their supply chain I think we need to find a different way to manage this process ... besides the DRC is pretty adept at circumventing most of the restrictions on them and once a cartload of ore gets out of their country it is much more difficult to identify the chain of custody (and I am a little nervous about the effects of boycotting the entire region)

maxius said:

as a multi-billion dollar company its called having control over your supply chain and know where your costs come from so yes

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As a multi-billion dollar company that's publicly traded and beholden to your shareholders and their profit, that's unrealistic.

liberals they ruined chinatown after they begged for a walmart now closed. I hope these companies sue for defamation and strip them of everything then render them homeless it would be a fitting punishment.

maxius said:

as a multi-billion dollar company its called having control over your supply chain and know where your costs come from so yes

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^Said by someone who has never had to source parts.

Your supply chain can extend up to 10 hops in some cases and those will not be consistent. One of your suppliers in the chain will change their supplier without your notice because they got a deal on some parts or raw material.

The most any company can do is go direct to their contract manufacturer and do your best to keep them in line and keep forcing them to buy parts from your approved suppliers, but in the real world that changes soon as you leave their building, and they will continue doing what they want to do until they get caught next time.

Also our ethical stands on work forces do not apply to other countries. In some cases teens look for jobs over there to help out their families so before people get on their soapbox, remember that when you were cutting grass or babysitting for money at the age of 12-14, what would you have done if offered a full time job paying almost twice what you were making? Hell I would have been building iphones instead of flipping burgers all through highschool, in my area Dairy Queen hired 14-15yr olds for part time work during the summer.

Darunion said:

^
Also our ethical stands on work forces do not apply to other countries. In some cases teens look for jobs over there to help out their families so before people get on their soapbox, remember that when you were cutting grass or babysitting for money at the age of 12-14, what would you have done if offered a full time job paying almost twice what you were making? Hell I would have been building iphones instead of flipping burgers all through highschool, in my area Dairy Queen hired 14-15yr olds for part time work during the summer.

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Sadly I have to agree. What passes for normal in developed countries who have not seen civil war in more than a century might just be survival in countries torn by civil war and conflict over resources. Sometimes the choices are between child labor and starvation.

The media needs to stop glamorizing symptoms and look at root cause when they report issues like this. Right now all we have is infotainment.

get in there and make those iPhones you little punk brats

Dwango said:

As a multi-billion dollar company that's publicly traded and beholden to your shareholders and their profit, that's unrealistic.

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Pretty much, these come first not children.

maxius said:

as a multi-billion dollar company its called having control over your supply chain and know where your costs come from so yes

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You are talking about the actual point the rocks come from the ground. I doubt you find many companies that are fully aware of the their supply chain THAT far back.

Assembly plants? Sure, that's a pretty close connection. But raw materials coming out of the ground? Especially coming from DRC?!? Literally one of the worst shitholes in the entire world. It's not just the kids, sending ANY money to that country is asking for suffering.