A report published following an extensive audit following worker suicides at one of its suppliers, Foxconn, found 106 cases of underage labour being used at its suppliers’ premises last year.
The company increased audits of working conditions at major suppliers last year, discovering multiple cases of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems.
Under chief executive Tim Cook, Apple has taken new steps to improve its record and boost transparency, including the extensive audits. Last year, it agreed to separate audits by the independent Fair Labor Association following criticism over the conditions in its suppliers’ factories. Apple said on Thursday it conducted 393 audits, up 72% from 2011, reviewing sites where over 1.5 million workers make its gadgets.
Apple reported both the supplier and the employment agency to local authorities, the company said in its latest annual report on the conditions in its supply chain.
Apple senior vice president of operations Jeff Williams said last week that the company has increased its efforts to solve two of the most challenging issues – ensuring there are no underaged workers in its supply chain and limiting working hours to 60 hours a week.
In one case, Apple said it terminated its relationship with component maker Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics after discovering 74 cases of underage workers.
Apple has audited both small and ancillary suppliers, as well as large ones such as Korea’s Samsung Electronics, for working conditions. It found 95% of sites audited complied with avoiding underage labour.
Child labour is an issue that is part of the larger supply industry as the component maker that Apple found violated child labour laws supplied parts to more than a hundred different companies, including automotive companies, Williams said, vowing to eradicate under-aged labour from the industry.
“We go deep in the supply chain to find it,” Williams said. “And when we do find it, we ensure that the underage workers are taken care of and the suppliers dealt with.”
