China Labor Watch (CLW) is a non-profit advocacy group which investigates conditions in Chinese factories. The organization claims undercover investigators worked in Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant in China, including one who was employed there for four years. The investigation found that temporary staff, known as dispatch workers, accounted for nearly 50 percent of the workforce in August, while Chinese labor law stipulates a maximum of 10 percent, CLW said.
Apple has announced that, after conducting an investigation, it found the “percentage of dispatch workers exceeded [its] standards” and that it is “working closely with Foxconn to resolve this issue”. Apple also claims that when it finds issues, it works with suppliers to “take immediate corrective action”. Foxconn has also confirmed the dispatch worker issue following an operational review.
CLW reported that 55 percent of factory staff were dispatch workers in 2018, and about 50 percent in August this year, which included student interns. Because many of these students returned to school at the end of August, the figure dropped to 30 percent, but is still a violation, according to CLW.
“To make sure our high standards are being adhered to, we have robust management systems in place beginning with training on workplace rights, on-site worker interviews, anonymous grievance channels and ongoing audits”, Apple said.
Foxconn said it found “evidence that the use of dispatch workers and the number of hours of overtime work carried out by employees, which we have confirmed was always voluntary, was not consistent with company guidelines”. “Work to address the issues identified in our Zhengzhou facility continues and we will closely monitor the situation. We will not hesitate to take any additional steps that might be required to meet the high standards we set for our operations”, Foxconn added.
In its annual supplier responsibility report, which details working conditions in its supply chain, Apple claims it has conducted 44,000 interviews with supplier employees in 2018 to check if they were properly trained and knew how to voice concerns, while taking new steps to prevent forced labor.
In August this year, Foxconn announced it fired two executives at one of its Chinese plants after another CLW investigation found the company was relying heavily on temporary workers and teenage interns to assemble Amazon.com Echo speakers. Foxconn investigated the Hengyang facility and found the proportion of contract workers and student interns had on occasion exceeded legal thresholds, and that some interns worked overtime or nights.
According to CLW, Apple and Foxconn seek to produce about 12,000 iPhones per shift at the Zhengzhou plant. The CLW report at the Zhengzhou facility also found that, during peak production periods, resignations are not approved; some dispatch workers have not received promised bonuses; student workers do overtime during peak production season, even though regulations on student internships prohibit this. The investigation also showed that some workers put in at least 100 overtime hours each month, while Chinese labor law limits monthly overtime to 36 hours.
The CLW report claims workers at the Zhengzhou plant must get approval to not do overtime. If requests are denied and staff still choose not to work overtime, they are admonished by managers and miss out on future overtime opportunities. Workers sometimes have to stay at the factory for unpaid meetings at night. The factory does not provide adequate protective equipment for staff; while work injuries are not reported by the factory, and verbal abuse is common there.
“We looked into the claims by China Labor Watch and most of the allegations are false”, Apple said. “We have confirmed all workers are being compensated appropriately, including any overtime wages and bonuses, all overtime work was voluntary and there was no evidence of forced labor”, the company added. Apple also said that less than 1 percent of workers were student workers, and that a small percentage of them voluntarily worked overtime or night shifts. Apple and Foxconn both said this issue has been corrected.
