Apple iPad plant conditions better than the norm: Fair Labor Association

Working conditions at Chinese manufacturing plants where Apple Inc's iPads and iPhones are made are far better than those at garment factories or other facilities elsewhere in the country, according to Auret van Heerden, president of the Fair Labor Association which is investigating the plants.

He offered no immediate conclusions on the working conditions, but he noted that boredom and alienation could have contributed to the stress that led some workers to take their own lives. After his first visits to Foxconn, van Heerden said, "The facilities are first-class; the physical conditions are way, way above average of the norm." He spent the past several days visiting Foxconn plants to prepare for the study.