Apple Reports 99% Supplier Compliance To Its 60-Hour Workweek Limit
March 7, 2013
Not one to turn a deaf ear to matters concerning labor and human rights, Apple has been seriously tackling the issue of excessive work hours in its supply chain. And in an update to its supplier responsibility webpage, Apple reports an all-time high percentage of compliance to the 60-hour workweek it endorses across its supply chain.
Apple began its practice of tracking work hours weekly in its supply chain in 2011. But back then, only a small number of suppliers were tracked by Apple. But in 2012, it started tracking as many as 1 million employees.
As reported in its comprehensive supplier responsibility report last January, Apple achieved an average of 92 percent compliance with a maximum 60-hour work week in 2012. In addition, the average hours worked per week last year was under 50.
But the best figure comes from that of January 2013, during which Apple obtained 99 percent compliance to the 60-hour workweek. This is depicted in the graph above.
However, a couple of considerable drops in compliance were recorded in September and November, which saw the launch of the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini, respectively. In cases such as these, Apple notes that overtime rendered must be voluntary.
Click here to see Apple's full report on its Labor and Human Rights page.