Apple is one of the largest manufacturing chain companies in the world, but most of the work is done in foundries.
Apple audited 756 suppliers in 30 countries, 197 of which were included in the audit category for the first time.
In its annual report on supplier responsibility, Apple stated that out of 100 points, the percentage of 'low-performing' suppliers with scores below 59 fell from 3% in 2016 to 1% in 2017, and the proportion in 2014 At 14%, the proportion of 'high performance' suppliers increased from 47% the previous year to a record 59%.
In 2017, Apple discovered 44 so-called 'core violations' that doubled from the previous year. In one case, more than 700 foreign contractors recruited from the Philippines required suppliers to pay $1 million in compensation. Apple The company forced the supplier to repay the money.
According to Apple's request, the factory employees' working hours per week must not exceed 60 hours, and 94% of the suppliers comply with this rule, and the previous year's compliance rate was 98%. In addition, Apple said that 38 counterfeiters were discovered during 2017. Cases of working time data have increased compared with 9 cases in the same period last year.
Apple said that the above proportion of growth was due to the introduction of new suppliers in 2017 and began tracking work time data for 1.3 million foundry employees. The number of audited employees has increased by 30% from previous years.
In the report, Apple also stated that it will launch a new Women's Health Initiative at the foundry, with the goal of reaching 1 million women by the end of 2020. At the same time, Apple has launched a plan in China to train workers to become the responsibility of the factory's assembly line. People, these people work two or three percent more efficiently than normal assembly line workers.
On Wednesday, following the requirements of the U.S. securities regulator, Apple also issued a so-called conflict minerals report listing suppliers of sensitive metals such as tin and gold.
Apple said that in 2017, there were 16 smelters and refineries that left the Apple supply chain. Ten of them did not participate in third-party audits, and another six suppliers left on their own.
Last year, due to the discovery that some Chinese students worked more than 11 hours a day for the assembly of iPhone X mobile phones, Apple also introduced new regulations concerning the use of student workers.