Working conditions to be inspected at Apple factories

Apple's making a bit of a song and dance about the fact that it has invited the Fair Labor Association to inspect its supplier factories after rows over worker welfare. Last week, demonstrations took place at a number of Apple stores as people protested poor working conditions at factories like Foxconn where some Apple products, including the iPad and iPhone, are assembled. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, explained, "We've asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers. "The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports." They've all got it infamy A team of labour rights specialists are carrying out the inspections which began this morning at Foxconn City in Shenzhen, China. Foxconn has achieved infamy in the tech industry over the past two years after a number of its employees committed suicide at its Shenzen factory seemingly due to working conditions. While we all love a good gadget, it's important to remember that someone somewhere is responsible for designing, assembling and testing them and it shouldn't be a case of out of sight, out of mind - as Tim Cook says, "Workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment."