As you probably know there’s been a bit of a hoo-har over Apple fair labor practices recently with a petition running to get Apple to get their suppliers to change the way they treat their workers anf treat them more fairly, we reported on that fail labor petition previously which you can read (here). And now Apple has responded on the matter.

Apple has announced that the Fair Labor Association is to conduct special voluntary audits of final assembler plants of Apple devices including Foxconn plants in Chengdu and Shenzhen in China apparently at Apple’s request.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says they believe worker everywhere have a right to be in a safe and fair working environment, and this is why Apple has requested the Fair Labor Association to independently assess the performance of the company’s biggest suppliers.

According to Cook this investigation in underway right now and are unprecedented in the electronics industry in both scope and scale. Similar FLA inspections will be carried out at Pegatron and Quanta plants in the spring.

Apparently Apple suppliers have said they will cooperate fully with the Fair Labor Association’s inspections, and will deliver unrestricted access to their operations, and as part of the assessment the FLA is to interview thousands of workers on health and safety, compensation, living conditions, communication with management and working hours.

The FLA will also inspect dormitories, manufacturing areas, and other facilities along with conducting an extensive review of employment procedure documents. With the findings and recommendations of the FLA’s first assessment being posted in early March to the fairlabor website.

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