The recent exposé by the New York Times, which asserted that Apple knew about labour abuses at its main supplier, Foxconn in China, has sparked a storm of controversy since it came to light last week.

 

First, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook responded by releasing a internal letter which stated “We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us.”

 

According to 9to5mac, Cook went on to write that “every year we inspect more factories, raising the bar for our partners and going deeper into the supply chain. As we reported earlier this month, we’ve made a great deal of progress and improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers. We know of no one in our industry doing as much as we are, in as many places, touching as many people.”

 

 

More recently, news broadcaster CBS News picked up and elaborated on the story, with a ten minute video that highlighted the problems uncovered by the New York Times. While CBS noted that no official comment was forthcoming from Apple or Foxconn, in his letter, Cook did not deny that there were labour problems in its supply chain.

He instead pledged that the Cupertino company would “continue to dig deeper, and will undoubtedly  find more issues.” He elaborated that Apple remained focused on educating workers about their rights, so they are empowered to speak up when they see unsafe conditions or unfair treatment.

 

“What we will not do — and never have done — is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain. On this you have my word,” he stressed. Cook further encouraged users to follow the follow the company’s  progress in this regard here.  

 

 

Nonetheless, the letter, which was reported towards the end of last week, has apparently not stopped a wave of calls in the media for a potential boycott of the company, according to the Guardian.

 

The site elaborated that of late, the likes of the Los Angeles Times and Forbes magazine have asked whether the public should boycott Apple, while Newsweek’s Dan Lyons drove the point home, writing:

 

“Ultimately the blame lies not with Apple and other electronics companies – but with us, the consumers. And ultimately we are the ones who must demand change."

 

 

That, truly is the heart of the matter. While Apple posts record earnings, and unarguably cements its position as the largest tech giant of our time, it is easy to forget that it is due in no small part to the efforts of workers in factories such as Foxconn’s.

 

They are the true manufacturing power behind the production of Apple’s devices, and tragically appear to be worked quite literally to death in certain instances. For users, this cannot and should not be acceptable.