Apple revealed on Monday that the Fair Labor Association has begun an inspection of the Foxconn factories at their request, Apple Insider reports. The inspections began on Monday morning and are being led by labor experts, including FLA president Auret van Heerden.
Tim Cook said in a statement:
“We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we’ve asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers. The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports.”
This will be a very thorough inspection, with thousands expected to be interviewed about their living and work conditions, with all the facilities also being examined.
This type of inspection is unprecedented for a technology company, with Apple becoming the first such company to join the FLA a month ago. Apple’s suppliers have reportedly given their full cooperation to the inspection and will offer unrestricted access to their operations.