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Amazon admits to labor violations at Echo speaker factory in China
Labor violations are an all too common reality in technology manufacturing, and Amazon just made that patently clear. In the wake of a joint exposé between China Labor Watch and the Guardian, Amazon has acknowledged that a Foxconn factory in Hengyang, China has been violating labor laws while making Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers. A March audit revealed that over 40 percent of staff were low-cost agency workers (who don't get holiday or sick pay and can be laid off without wages), or well over the 10 percent allowed in China. Moreover, employees who worked overtime were paid at their regular rate, rather than the time-and-a-half demanded by both Chinese laws and Amazon itself.
Apple supplier accused of chemical safety and overtime violations
Apple is still struggling to improve working conditions at its suppliers. Both China Labor Watch and Bloomberg report that Catcher, a key supplier for iPhone and MacBook casings, makes workers endure harsh safety conditions and unfair work terms in a factory in Suqian. According to observers and discussions with workers, the machines are not only loud, but spray fluid and metallic particles that frequently hit workers' faces (only some of which have access to safety goggles and gloves). Workers suffer health issues such as vision problems, irritation and discoloration. Beyond this, the facility reportedly pumps out wastewater that violates local safety levels, and workers return to cold dorms with no hot water or built-in showers.
Students allegedly being forced to work in Chinese tech factories
Despite the efforts of major technology corporations, such as Apple and Samsung, to improve labor conditions in China, major problems are still slipping through the cracks. Now, as The Wall Street Journal writes, some Chinese students in their teenage years are reportedly being forced by their schools to work about 12 hours per day, six days a week, on factory assembly lines in that country. It gets worse, though. According to a 16-year-old student who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, she was told to either "spend summer making computers" for an HP supplier or wave goodbye to the chance of graduating from her vocational school. She's only one of thousands of teenagers going through this situation, per the report.
Apple supplier tagged with another round of labor violations
Apple's gearing up for a very big day next week, but it to the people inside it must seem like this one will never end. First the company was implicated in perhaps the biggest celebrity leak of all time, and now it's getting wrapped up in another round of alleged labor violations thanks to one of its China-based suppliers. A report released by China Labor Watch and the environmental watchdogs at Green America maintains that some workers at a Catcher Technology factory in Suqian that produces aluminum cases for Apple products were found putting in crazy overtime hours (up to 100 hours a month in some cases) and used toxic chemicals without being safety trained.
Samsung cuts ties with factory following child labor findings
Samsung has announced that it has suspended dealings with one of its manufacturing partners after an activist organization found "serious and persistent" labor violations at a facility in China. China Labor Watch investigated Dongyang Shinyang Electronics and found multiple instances where at least three underage girls were hired to work 12-hour shifts making parts for Samsung's phones. The report also alleges more widespread issues at the factory, including a lack of safety training or equipment, refusing to hire male workers and forcing employees to work up to 120 hours of overtime -- more than three times the legal limit.
iPhone factory Jabil Circuit accused of labor abuses
The nonprofit China Labor Watch group says they have uncovered multiple labor violations in a US-owned factory in China. The factory is currently among those producing the soon-to-be-released new iPhone for Apple. China Labor Watch says the plant infringements include millions of dollars in unpaid overtime wages, lack of rest for workers besides a 30-minute meal break, inadequate pre-work training, discrimination in hiring practices and more. The China Labor Watch group says the violations contradict the codes of conduct of both Apple and Jabil Circuit. Jabil Circuit is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla. You can read the full PDF report at this link. Apple has a history of claims that labor in its partner plants have been mistreated, most recently in a report about Apple manufacturing partner Pegatron. Update: Apple issued a statement to Business Insider saying that in 14 audits since 2008, the factory has achieved 99% compliance with making sure each factory worker put in less than 60 hours a week.
Low-cost plastic-clad iPhone mentioned in China Labor Watch report
Remember that China Labor Watch report we recently covered? After digging further into the document, 9to5Mac's Computerworld's unearthed more possible evidence about that often leaked, low-cost plastic-clad iPhone. The introduction states: Its assembled products include iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, and low-priced plastic iPhones. Then, on page 27: Today's work is to paste protective film on the iPhone's plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple. [...] The new cell phone has not yet been put into mass production, so quantity is not as important. Of course, there's no definitive proof that Apple will be launching a more affordable iPhone made of polycarbonate -- after all the company might just be testing prototypes that are not destined to market. Still, the information in this report sure gives all these recent iPhone rumors a lot more merit. Update: It looks like it was Computerworld that originally discovered this information, and we've changed the source link to reflect this.
Apple's new suppliers are 'even worse' than Foxconn, says China Labor Watch
Just as Pegatron has managed to snatch more Apple contracts away from Foxconn, so too has it attracted greater scrutiny of the conditions faced by its 70,000 workers. China Labor Watch, the US-based worker welfare monitor, now alleges that Chinese factories run by the up-and-coming Taiwan-based manufacturer are "even worse" than Foxconn's. It claims to have found health and safety violations, poor living conditions in dorms, and the coercion of workers by withholding their pay or identity cards -- in other words, the sort of stuff that breaches both Chinese law and Apple's supplier policy. Its latest report also accuses Apple of failing to treat abuses with the same urgency that it applies to lapses in product quality. For its part, Apple has responded by highlighting the fact that it has audited Pegatron facilities 15 times in the last six years, and that a recent survey found that Pegatron employees were working an average of 46 hours per week. It also said it had dealt promptly with earlier instances of ID cards being withheld, but admitted that China Labor Watch's report includes "claims that are new to us" and that will need to be investigated "thoroughly." [Image credit: Jay Greene, CNET]
Samsung finishes initial Chinese factory audits, plans long-term solutions to labor woes
Samsung faced some serious allegations surrounding the plants of its Chinese contractor HEG Electronics earlier this month, including potentially dire accusations that HEG was employing child labor. The Korean firm promised audits to set the record straight, and we're seeing the first fruits of those inspections today. The results were decidedly mixed. While there weren't any underage workers when Samsung visited, it did find HEG staff working excessive overtime, some unsafe practices and a system that punished late workers with fines. Samsung's response will go beyond just asking HEG to shape up, though: it plans to finish auditing all 105 of its exclusive Chinese contractors by the end of September, determine whether inspections of non-exclusive contractors are needed and set up a long-term audit schedule past 2013 that includes tougher requirements. While there's no certainty that the reforms will lead to the intended results, we're glad to hear that Samsung wants to turn things around at such a rapid pace.
Samsung accused of, denies employing child labor through Chinese contractor
Despite improvements, working conditions are still a sore point in China -- and China Labor Watch wants to emphasize that no company is exempt from scrutiny. The rights advocacy group claims that, on top of pushing mandatory overtime and poor overall conditions, Samsung contractor HEG Electronics has allegedly been employing at least seven underage workers at a Huizhou plant making phones and DVD players. Not surprisingly, Samsung has been quick to defend itself, asserting that it found "no irregularities" in two separate inspections this year and that it plans a third as a response to the new accusations. Who's telling the truth is still up in the air, although China Labor Watch is taking aim only after going undercover; it's long been suspected that contractors whitewash their labor practices when they see corporate inspectors coming from a mile away. If there's any substance to the allegations, Samsung may be the next tech giant taking action to mend a bruised public image.
