21-07-2010 CSRWire: International Investor Coalition Urgently Calls on Apple, HP and Dell for Improved Working Conditions in Electronics Manufacturing Facilities

Excerpt from the CSRWire website;

 

In light of a series of suicides at the Foxconn Electronics facility in China, a broad coalition of over 40 European, Australian and U.S. investors have joined their voices to issue a public statement condemning abusive workplace conditions in the global electronics supply chain. Worker abuses such as excessive overtime and supervisor harassment which are endemic in the electronics manufacturing sector have been cited by non-governmental organizations as contributing to excessive stress and grave mental health issues among factory workers. In issuing this statement, the group, led by Boston Common Asset Management, LLC, Trillium Asset Management Corporation, As You Sow and Domini Social Investments LLC, all members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, sends a strong message to the electronics manufacturers in their portfolios urging stricter supply chain compliance.

"We believe this is a wake-up call for the electronic industry to intensify its efforts to improve working conditions and the quality of life for workers producing their products. We urge companies, suppliers, governments and investors to focus on building more sustainable supply chains that mitigate risks while building safe and harmonious workplaces" said Steven Heim, Managing Director and Director of ESG Research and Shareholder Advocacy at Boston Common Asset Management.

The statement, with 45 investor signatories, urges the consumer electronics companies in their portfolios such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard who are leaders in their industry to redouble efforts to strictly monitor the practices of their suppliers to insure safer, less stressful workplace conditions and to promote worker rights.