"Serious and pressing noncompliances" found in Foxconn factories, Apple promises change
After a month-long investigation the Fair Labor Association (FLA) has found "serious and pressing noncompliances" in Foxconn factories, the main manufacturer for Apple electronics. The FLA interviewed 35,000 random Foxconn workers and concluded that there is excessive overtime and along with it overtime compensation issues, health and safety risks in plants where iPhones and iPads are made.
The average Foxconn worker has a 56-hour work week, 7 hours more than the 49 hours Chinese labor law allows. Overtime is the biggest concern as workers often don’t get their full pay. The reason for this is that overtime is broken down in 30-minute intervals, so if an employee only checks in for 29 minutes of overtime, he won’t get compensated. Additionally, half of the workers said they’ve been working for 11 days or more in a row.
To put working conditions in monetary perspective, the minimum wage in the Shenzhen province of China where Foxconn is located is around $220 (1,500 yuan) a month. Foxconn employees start with a monthly salary of nearly $265, which gets bumped up to $325 after their probation period ends.
Social responsibility has a cost.
"Social responsibility has a cost. We are asking factories to make significant investment. We all have to be willing to share that cost," FLA CEO Auret van Heerden said in an interview for ABC News.
Apple and Foxconn in particular agreed to fix the overtime issues by hiring “tens of thousands” of new workers and cut overtime to the legal limits. The Chinese manufacturer will also build additional housing for the new employees.
Foxconn will be breaking the law for the next 15 months.
"Foxconn will be breaking the law for the next 15 months. If Foxconn can't hire workers quick enough, Apple would just have to reduce demand. We shouldn't be buying things that are produced illegally," the activist organization said.
The full report is now available, so jump to the source below to read it and draw your own conclusions.
source: Fair Labor Association
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