Fair Labor Association begins inspections of Foxconn facilities

Apple announced that the Fair Labor Association would begin audits of its suppliers in China, including Hon Hai Precision (trade name Foxconn; HNHPF.NYSE, HHPD.LSE, 2038.HKG, 2317.TW), Bloomberg reported. Inspectors from the organization, set up in 1999 as an initiative by US President Bill Clinton, began their work yesterday at Foxconn’s facilities in Shenzhen. It will interview thousands of employees about their work and life in “Foxconn City,” before moving on to the company’s factories in Chengdu. Apple also requested the group audit labor conditions at Quanta Computer (2382.TW) and Pegatron (4938.TW) later this year. Apple has come under fire for poor labor conditions at its China suppliers’ factories after a series of suicides in 2010 at Foxconn facilities. Protesters collected more than 250,000 signatures last week for a petition insisting that Apple develop a worker protection strategy at contractor plants.