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Apple workplace violations

March 30, 2012

Workers who make iPhones and iPads at Foxxconn factories in China are often overworked and underpaid, a landmark report has found. The Apple partner has pledged to tackle all workplace violations.

https://p.dw.com/p/14V0V
Staff members work on the production line at the Foxconn complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen
Image: dapd

The independent Fair Labor Association (FLA) has uncovered a series of work place violations at Chinese factories that manufacture Apple products, including iPhones and iPads.

Following one of the largest investigations ever conducted into an American company's operations abroad, the FLA reported that working hours routinely exceeded legal limits and workers were often not compensated for excessive overtime.

The month-long investigation surveyed more than 35,000 staff at three separate plants operated by Foxconn, Apple's main contract manufacturer.

Employees were found to often work more than 60 hours per week assembling the Apple products in the final stage of the manufacturing process, exceeding the Chinese 49-hour legal limit. Periods during which some employees worked more than seven days in a row without the required minimum 24-hour break were also indentified.

With more than 1.2 millions employees, Foxconn is China's largest private-sector employer.

Criticism of Foxconn mounted following reports that a string of suicides at plants in southern China in 2010 were triggered by poor working conditions. An industrial explosion at a plant in Chengdu, which killed four workers, also raised concerns over safety.

The FLA investigation revealed that a considerable number of workers still felt "generally insecure," despite the fact that improvements had been made to safety procedures in the wake of the explosion.

Global implications

In response to the findings, Foxconn pledged to bring factory conditions into full compliance with Chinese law and FLA standards. It said it would enforce the legal working hour limit and clamp down on illegal overtime, while maintaining compensation for workers at the current level.

Tens of thousands of new workers would also be hired to compensate for reduced hours, and safety protocols further improved.

"If implemented, these commitments will significantly improve the lives of more than 1.2 million Foxconn employees and set a new standard for Chinese factories," FLA president Auret van Heerden said.

The agreement could also have an impact on other foreign companies that do business in China. In addition to Apple, Foxconn has contracts with Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Amazon.com, Motorola, Nokia and Sony and Sony.

ccp/ncy (Reuters, AFP, AP)