There's some truth to both sides. Harsh conditions and low (relative) wages are pretty normal, even in America. There are legitimate gripes about those, but the fact is that even in America people end up working lots of overtime with little say in whether or not they want it.
However, the point this article makes about safety is pure and utter crap. The best they can come up with is to bury that matter on page two, then handwave some bogus calculation about how people get injured even in America. Yes, they do. I personally have had to deal with some of those industrial injuries. But they were caused by the worker screwing up, not by unsafe conditions. There's not much you can do if someone reaches into a machine that's in operation when they're not allowed to do that, ever. That's a far cry from having to deal with poisonous chemicals like n-hexane and from having no first aid providers to help you.
And from everything I've read, there are some ridiculously unsafe conditions over there. US employers are required to have MSDS sheets for their chemicals, so something like n-hexane doesn't get used to polish iPhone screens. The workers also have a right to learn about them. You also get proper PPE and training to deal with whatever you have to deal with. Finally, they do not leave you on your own if you get injured. They either hire nurses, or teach employees (like yours truly) first aid. Yes, I know what farm work is like, too. Everyone who grew up in the Midwest probably at least knows about detasseling corn. For the record, yes, it sucks. But I'd take it over a factory with no safety program any day. So, basically, the lot of you could stand to learn more about conditions here before comparing them to China. We have it bad, they have it worse, and it's not some kind of contest.
The whole Apple thing, though? I wouldn't boycott them, but I would push them into trying. They've got no direct control, no, but when the factory manager has to deal with a big customer like Apple, they will do something to appease them. It's probably a bit unfair to single out Apple, though, because I doubt it's that much different elsewhere. If they really want to do something, they should require their suppliers to have a worker safety program.
Farming in the developing world is very different from farming in the Midwestern United States. US agriculture is heavily mechanized. Developing world agriculture is not.
However, the point this article makes about safety is pure and utter crap. The best they can come up with is to bury that matter on page two, then handwave some bogus calculation about how people get injured even in America. Yes, they do. I personally have had to deal with some of those industrial injuries. But they were caused by the worker screwing up, not by unsafe conditions. There's not much you can do if someone reaches into a machine that's in operation when they're not allowed to do that, ever. That's a far cry from having to deal with poisonous chemicals like n-hexane and from having no first aid providers to help you.
And from everything I've read, there are some ridiculously unsafe conditions over there. US employers are required to have MSDS sheets for their chemicals, so something like n-hexane doesn't get used to polish iPhone screens. The workers also have a right to learn about them. You also get proper PPE and training to deal with whatever you have to deal with. Finally, they do not leave you on your own if you get injured. They either hire nurses, or teach employees (like yours truly) first aid. Yes, I know what farm work is like, too. Everyone who grew up in the Midwest probably at least knows about detasseling corn. For the record, yes, it sucks. But I'd take it over a factory with no safety program any day. So, basically, the lot of you could stand to learn more about conditions here before comparing them to China. We have it bad, they have it worse, and it's not some kind of contest.
The whole Apple thing, though? I wouldn't boycott them, but I would push them into trying. They've got no direct control, no, but when the factory manager has to deal with a big customer like Apple, they will do something to appease them. It's probably a bit unfair to single out Apple, though, because I doubt it's that much different elsewhere. If they really want to do something, they should require their suppliers to have a worker safety program.