Foxconn says it needs more time to cut back on overtime

Foxconn, the company that earns 60% to 70% of its revenue by assembling Apple products, says it needs more time to comply with a July 1st target set by the Fair Labor Association to cut the amount of overtime at its plants. Last year, Apple asked the FLA to investigate working conditions at Foxconn factories after a series of suicides and accidents at the plants between 2010-2012.

In its third report, the FLA said that Foxconn had resolved 98% of the problems that were discovered in the first report. That includes cutting hours worked including overtime, improving health and safety issues, and letting the union have more of a say in plant operations. But Foxconn still has to cut back the amount of overtime to meet the maximum allowed under Chinese law. The law calls for a maximum work week of 40 hours, plus 9 hours of overtime. Foxconn spokesman Louis Roo said, "We can't say when we can meet that target now. We're trying to come up with a realistic timetable."

For their part, many Foxconn workers want to grab as much overtime as possible. Migrating from other parts of China to find Foxconn jobs, these workers want to make as much money as possible in the shortest period of time before returning home. Many of these workers say that they will leave the company if overtime is reduced further.

source: Reuters