Apple has admitted that at least eleven 15 year old children were employeed in three different factories that supply Apple with their computers, iPods and iPhone devices.  Apple would not disclose which factories were at fault, however given that the devices are largely built in China, there’s a good chance at least some of the Children were employed in that area.

According to the HuffingtonPost:

Apple also has factories working for it in Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, the Czech Republic and the United States.

Apple said the child workers are now no longer being used, or are no longer underage. “In each of the three facilities, we required a review of all employment records for the year as well as a complete analysis of the hiring process to clarify how underage people had been able to gain employment,” Apple said, in an annual report on its suppliers.

It’s not the first time Apple has come under fire for their employment practices. In fact last week it was discovered that 62 workers at a factory that manufacturers Apple and Nokia devices were poisoned by n-hexane, a chemical that causes muscular degeneration and eyesight blur.

Last year Sun Danyong was accused by the devices manufacturing company of stealing a prototype for the iPhone and was beaten by security staff before jumping to his death from the 12th floor of his apartment building.

Foxconn who manufactures much of Apple’s products has also been accused of treating their employees extremely harshly and have been accused of having “inhumane and militant” management that goes against international basic human rights.

According to Apple’s recent report, at least 55 of 102 factories were ignoring the companies rules that staff can’t work over 60 hours per week. That 60 hour number however violates China’s own 49 hour work week laws.

In its report, Apple revealed sweatshop conditions inside many of the factories it uses. Apple admitted that at least 55 of the 102 factories that produce its goods were ignoring Apple’s rule that staff cannot work more than 60 hours a week. In all fairness for Apple however, that law is constantly ignored by companies throughout China.

Apple has also found that only 65 percent of factories were paying employees the wages they were suppose to earn, some even paying under China’s minimum wage amounts.  In other cases factories falsified records in order to hire child labor.

Factory safety guidelines are also violated by 39 percent of factories, guidelines put into place to avoid workplace injuries.

While the guidelines are not being followed, I have to commend Apple for publishing their own reports of current conditions for their workers and at least attempting to get factories under control in terms of employee care.

Then again, it’s almost impossible to tell if it’s all a marketing ploy by Apple to show that they want to run a clean business, or an honest attempt to clean up a huge labor issue within the ranks of Apple’s staff.

I would also like to point out that the underage workers were 15 years old, not 10 or 11, which is old enough to work in the United States under a work permit. Sure our kids might not work 60 hours in a week, but in a country where employment is hard to find these days (China) it’s a great opportunity for a kid who probably would not be on their way to higher education.

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2. Apple Eyes Bing Search For iPhones: Apple Rumor Buzz
3. Sholom Rubashkin Acquitted On All Child Labor Charges
4. Apple Sued, Admits iPhone 4 Problem, Offers Remedies

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Apple, Apple Child Labor, Apple China, Apple Factories, Child Labor, China Factories, China Labor