The Cupertino, California, company sent a team to China to investigate whether workers were compelled to work overtime to produce iPods, which command slightly more than 75 percent of the worldwide MP3 player market.
"The team reviewed personnel files and hiring practices and found no evidence whatsoever of the use of child labor or any form of forced labor," Apple said in a release posted on its Website. "The single largest complaint was the lack of overtime during non-peak periods."
Apple said that it found that more than a quarter of the employees worked more than was allowed by company policy, which limits workweeks to 60 hours and calls for workers to have at least one day off a week.
The supplier that runs the factories agreed to enforce Apple's weekly overtime limits, according to the report, which did not name the supplier.
Inquiries into whether workers were unreasonably disciplined resulted in two employees telling of being made to stand at attention by supervisors, Apple said.
"While we did not find this practice to be widespread, Apple has a zero tolerance policy for any instance, isolated or not, of any treatment of workers that could be interpreted as harsh," the report stated. "The supplier has launched an aggressive manager and employee training program to ensure such behavior does not occur in the future."
The investigation determined that workers earned at least local minimum wage but pay formulas were "unnecessarily complex" combinations of overtime; meal and housing allowances, and skill and attendance bonuses.
Overtime was tracked manually in a way that "relied too much on memory and was subject to human error," Apple determined.
The supplier was to simplify the pay formula and upgrade by October to a computerized payroll system that used electronic identification badges to log work hours, the report stated.
The work campus featured factories, employee housing, banks, a post office, a hospital, supermarkets, and recreational facilities including soccer fields, a swimming pool, television lounges, and Internet cafes, the report said.
Cafeterias offered menu choices such as fresh vegetables, beef, seafood, rice, poultry, and stir-fry noodles, according to Apple. There were also 13 restaurants on campus, the report said.
"Employees consistently mentioned that they felt safe and secure in both the workplace and the dormitories," the report stated. "A majority of employees interviewed were pleased with the work environment and specifically noted the opportunity for advancement, widespread yearend bonuses, and the reputation of the supplier in the industry."
Apple said that it enlisted US-based nonprofit social auditing organization Verité to monitor conditions at China factories contracted to make iPods and the company's Macintosh computers.
On its Website, Verité said that it was founded in 1995 and its mission was "to ensure that people worldwide work under safe, fair, and legal working conditions."
Apple said that it would demand that workplace violations found at suppliers be corrected and that it would terminate contracts with those that did not meet expectations.
© 2006 Agence France-Presse
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