A group of shareholders earlier this year asked Apple's
board to prepare a report on how the company protects workers in its supply
chain from forced labour. The request for information covered the extent to
which Apple has identified suppliers and sub-suppliers that are a risk for
forced labour, and how many suppliers Apple has taken action against.
In a letter from the SEC reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday,
regulators denied Apple's move to block the proposal, saying that "it does
not appear that the essential objectives of the proposal have been
implemented" so far.
The letter means that Apple will have to face a vote on the
proposal at its annual shareholder meeting next year, barring a deal with the
shareholders who made it.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
American lawmakers last week passed a bill banning imports
from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labour.
"There's rightfully growing concern at all levels of
government about the concentration camp-like conditions for Uyghurs and other
Turkic Muslims living under Chinese government rule," Vicky Wyatt,
campaign director for SumOfUs, a group supporting the shareholder proposal,
said in a statement on Wednesday.
Apple routinely asks the SEC to skip shareholder proposals,
and the requests are granted about half the time.
The SEC also denied Apple's request to skip a shareholder
proposal that would give investors more information about the company's use of
non-disclosure agreements. © Reuters
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