According to the New York Times Apple is going on the offensive to save face in a string of workers rights issues in Chinese factories.

Apple said Monday that an independent labor rights organization had begun auditing working conditions at Chinese factories where Apple products are made. Apple said the group, the Fair Labor Association, started its first inspections Monday at a factory run by Foxconn in Shenzhen, China, known as Foxconn City. Apple said the inspection had been led by a team of labor-rights experts including Auret van Heerden, president of the association. Apple said the group, at Apple's request, would also conduct audits of other factories where Apple products are assembled, including Foxconn's factory in Chengdu and others run by Quanta and Pegatron.Working conditions in Foxconn factories, including safety lapses that led to worker deaths, were the subject of an investigative article last month by The New York Times.

Scrutiny of its suppliers' factories has increased as Apple has become more successful. In January, the company said it would join the Fair Labor Association, becoming the first technology company to do so, to help improve conditions in its suppliers' factories. The news was released along with a report that Apple releases roughly every year based on its own inspections of factories. That report documented numerous labor violations, including factories where employees worked longer than 60-hour weekly limits and were not paid proper overtime.

Apple said Monday that its suppliers had pledged to give the Fair Labor Association unrestricted access to their operations during its inspections. Apple said the group would "interview thousands of employees about working and living conditions including health and safety, compensation, working hours and communication with management." It will also inspect manufacturing areas, worker dormitories and other facilities, the company said.

"We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we've asked the F.L.A. to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers," Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said in a statement. "The inspections now under way are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the F.L.A. agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports."

When completed, Apple said, the association's inspections will cover factories where more than 90 percent of Apple's products are assembled.