Apple supplier Foxconn improving working conditions, says FLA report

The Fair Labor Association has reported that Apple supplier Foxconn is making good progress with improving the working conditions of its employees, though added that some of the biggest challenges lie ahead.

It was back in February that the Fair Labor Association (FLA), at Apple’s request, began to investigate working conditions at factories in China operated by Foxconn, one of the Cupertino company’s biggest suppliers.

 The move came in the wake of a long list of disturbing reports surrounding the treatment of Foxconn employees, with stories about unreasonably long working hours, dangerous working environments where some employees were being exposed to toxic substances, and cramped on-site living conditions. Suicides were reported among the workforce, and worker revolts were not uncommon.

 The situation threatened to get out of control for Apple, pushing them to ask the FLA to help with improving conditions for Foxconn employees, of which there are thought to be more than a million in various locations across China.

 According to a progress report published this week by the FLA, it seems that, at long last, things are moving in the right direction for those working at Foxconn.

 The report states that the Taiwan-based company has, so far, carried out improvements in 284 areas, with 89 of these completed ahead of schedule. Improvements in an additional 76 areas are set to be carried out over the next 12 months.

 As part of Foxconn’s efforts to address workers’ issues, the company has increased pay, cut working hours, introduced more breaks and improved safety on the factory floor.

 However, according to FLA president Auret van Heerden, the next round of improvements will be the trickiest for Foxconn. These involve getting working hours down to China’s legal limit of 40 hours a week, something which “will inevitably cause uncertainty and anxiety among workers,” van Heerden believes.

 Marketplace reporter Rob Schmitz gained exclusive access to a Foxconn factory back in April, giving an interesting insight into life there. Schmitz described the facility, located in the southern Chinese city of Shenzen, as being more like a city, with its on-site fast-food restaurants, banks, cafes, grocery stores, a wedding photo shop and an automated library.

 ”After you enter the gates and walk around, you quickly realize that it’s also a city – 240,000 people work here,” he wrote. “Nearly 50,000 of them live on campus in shared dorm rooms.”

 Despite the work being, as Schmitz put it, “tedious and boring,” around 500 people turn up at the gates each day looking for work.

 With Apple’s iPhone 5 and rumored iPad Mini now rolling off the assembly line, it’s a safe bet to assume workers at Foxconn’s factories are currently busier than ever. No doubt the FLA is watching closely.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

New AT&T app will allow parents to remotely cut teens’ cell phone service when they’re driving

AT&T's making progress with its It Can Wait campaign against texting while driving by launching a new app that can block service remotely.

Perhaps a bit paranoid but definitely a step toward extreme prevention, AT&T is releasing a new app to discourage texting while driving. The new anti-texting technology will allow parents to remotely control their children’s cell phone service, cutting off their phones’ ability to text, browse the Web, or receive and make calls when they’re behind the wheel.

The app, slated for a September 19 release, gives parents the power to limit texting capabilities so teens cannot text while they are driving even if they wanted to. The app will also feature other safety precautions such as a GPS tracker to locate where the cellphone is located, and “Safety Violation Summary” with an alert system which will exts parents if their teens are driving at excessive speeds, making harsh accelerations, or performing dangerously sharp turns.

“Our goal is to save lives,” AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said. “I hear from far too many people whose lives have been forever changed by a texting-while-driving accident, and together, we want to spread the word about how deadly a single text can be.”

It is unclear what platforms the apps will be available on but if its anything like previous AT&T apps, we expect it to be on at least iOS, Android, and Blackberry. Future models of AT&T phones may even have the app pre-installed and un-deleteable. AT&T advertises the new app for use in concurrence with its Drive Mode app, which will send an automatic reply to text senders that the recipient is currently driving and will get back to their messages at a safer time.

In addition to the new app, AT&T will launch “aggressive” social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter, television and radio commercials, pamphlets to be distributed in high schools, and work with celebrity endorsers to reach its younger target audience. The company also aims to build an online driving simulator at ItCanWait.com so those at home and experience the dangers of texting while driving, along with life-size simulators set to hit approximately 200 locations across the nation.

“We’re challenging everyone to take the pledge to never text and drive and to make it a lifelong commitment,” Stephenson said. “And we’re challenging all device makers and app developers to offer devices that come pre-loaded with a no-text-and-drive technology solution.”

Extreme? Maybe, but it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry. Watch the video below to see snippets of the upcoming app.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com