Apple employees have “right to speak”, tech giant asserts

United States – The tech giant Apple has stridden on a favorable path, both for the company and its employees, months after its employees kickstarted a global movement known as #AppleToo. In a recent statement to its employees, Apple Inc reminded its employees that they have rights to speak and raise voice against the pay, working conditions and similar issues.

“Apple is deeply committed to providing employees with a workplace where they feel safe, respected, and inspired to do their best work,” the company said in the statement posted on an internal employee portal on Friday night. “Our policies do not restrict employees from speaking freely about their wages, hours, or working conditions.” Statement by the company added that the employees have freedom to raise concerns on any issue “in the way they feel most comfortable, internally or externally.”

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In August, two employees with Apple Inc, Janneke Parrish and Cher Scarlett started a movement #AppleToo. As mentioned on the website of movement, it will help the workers “organize and protect ourselves”. The website also urges employees to share stories of any issues faced by them, like racism, discrimination or wage dispute. This was seen as the first instance when Apple workers deviated from company’s culture of holding secrecy when speaking on controversial issues.

According to Parrish, the movement’s website had received hundreds of reports within few weeks regarding issues that “range the gamut from sexism and ageism to disclosures of rape and suicide.”

Earlier this month, Parrish has filed an official complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that in October she was fired from her job at Apple as a program manager, evidently as a retaliation of her role in movement. But Parrish has stressed that Friday’s statement by Apple is a big win for the movement. “It’s something that we’ve wanted Apple to communicate for the entirety of #AppleToo,” Parrish said. “It’s definitely not the end of the road but it’s a really big first step and it shows what workers speaking in unison can achieve.”