"Last year I suffered from hypotension.  We worked five weeks in a row, weekends included, nonstop, so we could then exchange these days and get our December holidays. We were also working overtime. People got so burnt out they did not want to stay, simply because they could not stand it anymore. It was physically impossible to continue to work."

—Manuel, electronics worker, interview by CEREAL

On March 30, 2016 Apple released its 10th Supplier Responsibility Progress Report. Two days later, on April 1, the latest UK Higher Education Framework Agreement for Apple products went live. It includes the Electronics Watch Contract Conditions, which means that UK universities affiliated to Electronics Watch can now legally require their contractors to respect domestic and international labour standards in Apple's supplier factories.

Nottingham Trent University (UK), the City of Sant Boi de Llobregat in Catalonia (Spain), and Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (Netherlands), are the latest public institutions to affiliate to Electronics Watch, bringing the total number of 'founding members' up to 15.

The Mobile Social Congress, an alternative congress promoting a fairer electronics industry, took place on Tuesday 23 February in the afternoon at Casinet d'Hostafrancs in Barcelona. It is an initiative led by SETEM, Electronics Watch's partner in Spain, in collaboration with several organizations, including Amnesty International Catalonia, the Catalan network of organisation for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fairphone, the telecommunications cooperative Eticom, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the open telecommunications network Guifinet.

Electronics Watch will be present at the following events in March and May - if you're in the area, why not look us up!

Electronics Watch is delighted to introduce you to its new staff team

The City of Barcelona has affiliated to Electronics Watch, making a social and environmental commitment to the workers of the electronics industry. The City made its announcement during the the Mobile World Congress, an annual gathering for the mobile industry and related industries, held in Barcelona, the Mobile World Capital.

Transport for London (TfL) has become the first public transport organisation to affiliate to Electronics Watch, providing €60,000 a year to fund long-term monitoring and improvement of factories, and gain access to intelligence from Electronics Watch partnerships with monitoring organisations based in the areas of electronics production used by the public sector. TfL already has a strict ethical procurement process in place to encourage and support its suppliers to provide good and fair working conditions.

The University of Barcelona will become the first public institution of Spain to join Electronics Watch. The ​public higher education institution invests substantially in electronic equipment such as desktops, laptops and other electronic devices. Now, in this collaboration with Electronics Watch and the rest of the European affiliates, the University of Barcelona will use its purchasing power to have a real impact on working conditions in the global electronics sector.

Autumn has been a very busy time for Electronics Watch. We have participated in conferences across Europe, including...