Apple’s third generation iPad is now available in the market and the company is on the way to squash the market with its latest product. The company’s share price bumped up to $541.99 and its total valuation had also reached to $505.3 billion on yesterday’s stock marketing. It’s well known that the company reached to its maximum level on March 1 this year with $548.21 per share and the company has hoard of cash ($100 billion) in the bank. Despite of all these activists in the united states have renewed their claim that the company’s contract manufacturers are not treating their workers as per the mandatory international labor act. Workers in Apple’s contractors’ factories in China are being exploited—which is similar to slave-labor conditions.
An activist organizers SumOfUs filed a petition that begun circulating on Wednesday against Apple for its contract manufacturers in China–those are exploiting their employees. Apple – the world’s most valuable company- forced their workers to do overtime for the past four months at iPad-manufacturing factories in China. Just before the annual meeting last month, the company had instructed to its backed group—Fair Labor Association—to audit Chinese subcontractors’ factories and provide all piggybacking.
Apparently, SumOfUs is not alone; consumers and shareholders are also insisting the company to counterbalance the company’s growth. They are provoking the company to stand in favor of employees or shareholders or in acquisition of some other valuable companies. Previously, founder of the company Steve Job didn’t like plastic screen on the company’s Smartphone and demanded a glass screen instead.  That time, Apple’s subcontractors were forced to convince workers to do 80-100 hours of overtime each month to fulfill the requirements.
Last month, Apple’s CEO—Tim Cook—said, “We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment.”
Apple is now trying to investigate two Chinese factories owned by Quanta—which also supplies hardware to Kindle Fire—and Pegatron Technology. Subtly, the company’s gross margin on all products was quite higher than other companies – 44% in the first quarter ended Dec. 31. Comparatively, Dell—the World’s third largest PC manufacturer—reported 21% of gross margin for its first quarter ended Feb 2.
The contribution of workers in China could not be ignored. They support to bring the products in market and fulfill the demand of consumers.  China is still a developing country, and young bloods select the option to migrate from its cities/village to work in these factories. There, they have to do work in tough conditions—below the standards. Sometimes, they have to go through severe injurious even death as an outcome of toxic chemicals, aluminum dust, and large-scale explosions.
I don’t think what the company will do with this pile of cash? The company is neither doing any charity nor for shareholders do those who endeavored to make the company great. Along with, the company is also not caring about its workers. If the company will not take any rigor action, then, definitely very tough days are ahead for the company.
