Workers Protest Labor Rights at Apple’s Taiwan Office

Labor protestors outside Apple’s Taiwan Office on Thursday. The Apple laptop says “Responsibility.” Images: Global Post.

Apple’s office in Taiwan drew protesters on Thursday complaining about layoffs and unfair working conditions at one of Apple’s main contractors.

A group of 30 to 45 workers complained of exploitation at Wintek, one of Apple’s major suppliers of LCD panels. The company is rumored to be supplying screens for the long-awaited Apple tablet. The workers chanted slogans and held signs saying “black-heart business” and “responsibility” outside Apple’s office in Taipei.

“We want to go through Apple to put pressure on Wintek,” one of the protestors told the Global Post.

The workers hope the action will force Apple to enforce it’s Code of Supplier Responsibility, instituted after 2006 allegations of exploitation at an iPod factory run by Foxconn, another Apple supplier factories in mainland China.

Apple told the Global Post that it conducts regular audits of its suppliers, and enforces the rules when it finds violations.

The Taiwanese workers complained that Wintek laid off more than 600 workers in December without warning, made staff work unpaid overtime to fulfill orders, and cut wages.

The fired workers said months of negotiations with Wintek went nowhere, so they are now hoping to pressure Apple and draw attention to their cause.

Wintek denies the allegations, saying it laid off workers after suffering historic losses in the global downturn. Wintek told the Global Post it gave fair warning, paid compensation packages, and complied with local laws and conduct rules.

Workers that had been laid off wore surgical masks to hide their identity, in the hope they may be one day hired back.

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The Post notes that Wintek’s sales improved markedly in the first three months of the year; and that Apple recorded 15 percent year-over growth in profits for the March quarter.  The Post report says:

One 37-year-old laid-off worker came to the protest with his 3-year-old son in tow. He said he was fired last December without warning or explanation, after working for the firm for nine years.

When he showed up for work, his boss told him, “You don’t need to come here, you’re laid off — take all your things away.”

“I’m here to ask for justice,” the worker said. “My family needs income, so we can eat.”

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