Apple distributes an internal report saying employees are open to talk about pay and working conditions

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Workers have the right to speak out about working conditions and pay, according to a new memo from Apple.
The internal memo was shared with the company's 80,000 US employees, according to NBC.
It comes months after Apple employees accused the company of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Ever since 15 employees launched the #AppleToo website in August, the company has been troubled by accusations of harassment and discrimination. The allegations were mostly made by the company's retail employees.

At the time, Cher Scarlett, a former #AppleToo organizer and engineer, told Insider that she believed the HR department "didn't really consider anything they complained about to be an issue."

Apple's employees now have the right to openly voice any concerns about pay equality or working conditions, according to an internal memo obtained by NBC News. The memo was posted on the company's internal people site on Saturday, according to the outlet, and was available to all 80,000 salaried and hourly US employees.

According to NBC, the memo reads:

Our policies do not prevent employees from discussing their pay, hours, or working conditions openly.

We encourage any employee who has a concern to express it in the way that feels most comfortable to them, whether internally or externally, such as to their manager, any Apple manager, People Support, People Business Partner, or Business Conduct.

According to NBC News, eight unfair labor charges have been filed against Apple since the #AppleToo movement began, though one has since been dismissed. Janneke Parrish, another ex-employee, claimed earlier this month that the company retaliated after she tried to bring attention to issues of discrimination and harassment. Apple said in a statement to Reuters in response to the report about Parrish that it didn't discuss matters involving individual employees. "We are deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace," the company said.

According to The Verge, Apple claimed that the language in its business conduct policy adequately covered the issues under scrutiny before posting the memo on Saturday. No part of their NDA policies, according to the policy, should restrict their employees' free speech in regards to workplace conditions or equal pay.

The extent to which the policy has been enforced was called into question in August by the #AppleToo open letter sent to Tim Cook and the senior leadership team.

Apple prides itself on its commitment to diversity, equity, and an environment where everyone can do their best work; however, this is far from the case in practice," it said.

If you would like to read about this more in-depth, please have a look at this article by Insider.

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Published to Apple Scoop on 22nd November, 2021.