With Apple currently allowing the Fair Labor Association to inspect the working conditions of its supply chains abroad, a new report from NPR profiled 25 of the 59 workers injured in an explosion at the Pegatron iPad factory in Shanghai, China last December (audio here – MP3). The explosion was attributed to a build-up of aluminum particles. According to Pegatron, it started in the machinery meant to collect the dust. Today’s report from NPR gives us a look into the conditions of the Shanghai plant before, during, and after the explosion from the eyes of workers.
A similar explosion months before in May at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu was the focus of The New York Times’ recent story sparking controversy over Apple’s suppliers. Zhang Qing explained to NPR that Apple inspected the Shanghai factory just hours before the explosion:
Another worker named Liu Hengchao described seeing the inspectors:
He Wenwen, who worked at Pegatron polishing the aluminum casings for iPad 2, described the explosion from within the factory:
The report said —as of last week— none of the 25 workers interviewed heard directly from Apple. However, following being contacted by NPR, Apple apparently started reaching out to the workers to check on their well-being and to confirm they received approximately $800 in compensation.
- Explosion at Pegatron’s iPad 2 back panel plant, should not affect production (9to5mac.com)
