Illegal student labor discovered at iPhone X plant, says Apple
The much anticipated Apple’s 10th-anniversary smartphone, iPhone X went on sale across the globe on November 3, with thousands of customers waiting to get their hands on the device. Also, the steep price of the smartphone has not deterred people from queuing up at Apple retail stores, which only indicates the huge demand for the iPhone X. To ensure that the massive delivery demand for the iPhone X is met, Apple has been working overtime wherein its recent promise delivery time frame has been reduced one to two weeks on all models of the iPhone X.
Now, Apple has been accused of violating local labor laws by depending on students working illegal overtime to build the iPhone X to catch up with demandย after production delays, through its Chinese manufacturing partner Foxconn, which produces the devices in Zhengzhou, China, reports Financial Times.
The students working at the Foxconn plant, are a part of the school internship program of a three month “work experience” placement, run by Hon Hai Precision Co Ltd (Foxconn). They were routinely working 11 hours per day assembling the newest smartphone, in violation of local labor laws barring students from workingย more than 40 hours per week.
Foxconn said its internship programme was โcarried out in co-operation with local governments and a number of vocational schools in China.โ
An earlier report by the Financial Times cited six students who worked overtime at the plant were among a group of 3,000 students sent by Zhengzhou Urban Rail Transit School for an internship program in September. The students aged between 17-19, were being forced by their school to participate in the internship for three months to get “work experience in order to graduate”.
โWe are being forced by our school to work here,โ said Ms Yang, an 18-year-old who assembles 1,200 iPhone X cameras a day was quoted by FT. โThe work has nothing to do with our studies.โ
While the school declined toย comment, both Apple andย Foxconnย acknowledged there were cases of student interns working overtime.
In a statement,ย Appleย said:ย โDuring the course of a recent audit, we discovered instances of student interns working overtime at a supplier facility in China. Weโve confirmed the students worked voluntarily, were compensated and provided benefits, but they should not have been allowed to work overtime.โ
โAt this facility, student intern programs are short term and account for a very small percentage of the workforce. When we found that some students were allowed to work overtime, we took prompt action. A team of specialists are on site at the facility working with the management on systems to ensure the appropriate standards are adhered to.โ
โApple is dedicated to ensuring everyone in our supply chain is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. We know our work is never done and weโll continue to do all we can to make a positive impact and protect workers in our supply chain.โ
Foxconnย told the newspaper that โall work was voluntary and compensated appropriatelyโ but acknowledged that โthe interns did work overtime in violation of our policyโ.
According to a long-time Foxconn employee, the Zhengzhou factory every year hires students between August and December, which is its busiest season. The hiring number at the plant exceeds more than 300,000 workers, producing up to 20,000 iPhones a day. However, when it came to the need for seasonal workers this year, the number was greater, the employee added.
โThe purchasing practices of Apple and others are designed to cut costs, and do things โjust in timeโ,โ said Jenny Chan, assistant professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. โThis leads to the use of student labourers who can be flexibly hired.โ
Apple and Foxconn in the past have been criticized for hiring underage workers, forย excessive overtime, and failing to provide health insurance.
Source: Financial Times