The appalling working conditions in the factories of China producing the iPhone are mirrored in the African mines where major phone manufacturers source their minerals (Your new iPhone features include oppression, inequality – and vast profit, 19 September). In the Democratic Republic of Congo workers toil for 12 hours a day with their bare hands to harvest coltan, a mineral used in smartphones and other consumer electronics. The miners who use picks and shovels to extract coltan in the sweltering heat are typically paid $5 a day, just above the minimum wage in the DRC of $3 a day. Many of the mines use illegal child labour and are controlled by militias who have used them to fund years of conflict in the country.
But there is a more ethical alternative to the major brands. The Fairphone is produced in a factory that ensures health and safety, as well as decent wages. It is also made with conflict-free minerals, which is a key starting point in avoiding some of the worst abuses of workers. Fairphone has been conceived and produced by a social enterprise which has worked hard to deliver transparency in both its production and supply chain. As a customer-owned co-operative, we are proud to work with Fairphone and be part of a movement working to improve conditions in the supply chain for mobile phones.
Vivian Woodell
Chief executive, The Phone Co-op
• News that the government is considering a crackdown on white-collar crime, including fraud, money laundering and false accounting, is welcome (Management could be prosecuted for failure to prevent fraud by staff, 12 September). But we need to recognise that these economic crimes are often closely linked with other corporate crimes, stemming from the same management failures. Traidcraft has uncovered evidence of a small number of irresponsible British companies getting away with serious crimes including causing deaths, serious injuries and widespread pollution through their operations in developing countries. If the prime minister is to fulfil her pledge to “get tough on irresponsible behaviour by big business”, the government must take steps to address both economic and wider corporate crime.
Celia Wells Emerita professor, University of Bristol
Liz May Head of policy and advocacy, Traidcraft
• I was horrified to read that Mark Carney had advocated children spending all the UK’s money on Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate (Report, 17 September). Is he not aware that Cadbury’s paid no corporation tax last year and precious little for several years before that? The Methodist Tax Justice Network believes tax dodging is sinful, and has called for a boycott of Cadbury’s until they pay their share.
Rev David Haslam
Methodist Tax Justice Network
