Apple denies violating labor laws
Report alleges harsh working conditions
Report alleges abuses in China by tech giant.
Ahead of Apple’s new iPhone unveiling set for Tuesday, a New York-based watchdog group released a report accusing the tech giant and its partner Foxconn of breaking Chinese labor laws to build its upcoming smartphones. Apple denies most of the allegations. The non-profit China Labor Watch (CLW) released a lengthy report Sunday alleging that the latest “iPhone 11” – the exact name of the new phone hasn’t been released – was “illegally produced in China.”
“Several investigators were employed at the Zhengzhou Foxconn factory, and one of the investigators worked there for over four years,” CLW said in the report. “Because of the long investigation period, this report reveals many details about the working and living conditions at the Foxconn factory.”
CLW says that the factory is dubbed “iPhone City” and is one of the largest iPhone factories in the world. Apple’s factory is accused of underpaying workers and forcing them to work in harsh conditions.
One of the most glaring laws broken involved temporary employees or “dispatch workers,” according to the report. Chinese laws require that only 10% of the company’s employee base be dispatch workers; however, Foxconn’s labor force was made up of about 50%.
Unlike full-time employed workers, dispatch workers do not receive paid sick leave and social insurance for medical expenses, CLW said. The report also accused Apple’s factory of paying base wages “insufficient to sustain the livelihood for a family” living in the area.
After conducting an internal investigation, the tech giant said in a statement that it found the “percentage of dispatch workers exceeded our standards” and that it is “working closely with Foxconn to resolve this issue.”
CLW’s report alleges that workers have said they are exposed to toxic chemicals every day.
“When they are sick, they are still forced to work overtime; managers verbally abuse workers on a regular basis and sometimes punish workers by asking them to stand,” according to CLW’s report. “Some female workers have even experienced sexual harassment while working on the production lines.”
Apple said that its workers are “being compensated appropriately” and “there was no evidence of forced labor.”
“We looked into the claims by China Labor Watch, and most of the allegations are false,” Apple told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “We believe everyone in our supply chain should be treated with dignity and respect. When we find issues, we work with our suppliers to take immediate corrective action.”
This isn’t the first time that Apple has come under fire for reportedly exploiting labor laws.
In 2017, the tech giant’s suppliers were accused of tapping high schoolers to staff their factories in a scramble to meet the demand for the pricey iPhone X. And a 2013 labor audit reportedly found multiple cases of employment of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems.