Apple faces protests over worker welfare in China

Apple's New York flagship store was a scene of protest at the weekend. Protesters gathered to participate in a demonstration calling on the smartphone giant to stop the poisoning of workers who make iPhones and other Apple products. 

The protest stemmed from the “Bad Apple Campaign,” launched jointly by Green America and China Labor Watch, earlier this year. To date, the campaign has collected nearly seventeen thousand signatures urging Apple’s ceo Tim Cook to remove dangerous chemicals in an effort to protect the young Chinese workers who manufacture Apple’s products. Additionally, more than 750,000 have watched the campaign’s associated film Who Pays the Price? The Human Cost of Electronics.

“Apple is seen as the smartphone pioneer and has led within its industry by using more renewable energy and reducing conflict minerals, however, to truly be the leader, Apple needs to ensure that none of the workers who make its products are put at risk”, said Elizabeth O’Connell, Green America's campaigns director . “Apple is a highly profitable company who can afford to ensure that the lives of the Chinese workers who assemble its products are protected just as much as workers in the US.”

Smartphones and other electronics are made with thousands of chemicals, many of which are known to be harmful to human health such as benzene or n-hexane. Occupational exposure to benzene can lead to leukemia, say campaigners.

The protests’ location at Apple’s “Cube” store, near Central Park, is significant in that the store is one of Apple’s most profitable retail locations, grossing more than $350m per year. Industry experts estimate that Apple could remove benzene and other dangerous chemicals from production for as little as $1 dollar per device.