Undercover investigations reveal labor violations at factories responsible for iPhone production

 

A new undercover investigation by China Labor Watch (CLW) has revealed a series of ethical and legal labor violations at a factory in Wuxi, China . The factory is owned by the American electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit , an Apple supplier responsible for producing the low-cost iPhone 5C , which is set to be released by Apple soon.

Among the violations uncovered by CLW are millions of dollars in unpaid overtime to workers . In addition, the report indicates abuses regarding permitted working hours , exceeding the legal limit by more than 100 mandatory overtime hours per month—three times the legal limit. This translates to more than 11 hours of standing every day without a break, skipping the 30-minute lunch break.

This fact has created great shock among the workers and the public, given that the labor development of the employees in said company is being illegally and improperly violated.

Many of the faults and violations raised in the CLW report contradict the codes of conduct that Apple and Jabil Circuit have established.

CLW recently reported that this is not only evidence that Apple and its suppliers have violated the labor and human rights of workers — workers who, incidentally, are the primary manufacturers of Apple products —but also that these abuses have been present in various Asian-owned factories.

The following are the primary legal and ethical violations discovered at Jabil Green Point :

• The intensive use of between workers. office, that exceeds the legally permitted limits.
• Female applicants must undergo pregnancy tests in order to be hired.
• The between workers. They are forced to sign a series of contracting documents, which release from any responsibility to JabilFurthermore, workers are denied the opportunity to carefully read the documents they are about to sign, not to mention that they are not given a copy of said documents.
• The training consists of two hours, the formation is superficial and the exam answers are negotiated by the staff in charge.
• Workplace training often lacks information on safety and precautions for workers. This is because, in most cases, factories involve constant contact with harmful, noisy, strong, and high-risk chemicals. This leads workers to misuse and sometimes even incorrectly use protective equipment, putting their lives at risk.
• 11,5 hours of work per day standing up.
• Despite the intensity of the work and the continuous saturation of activities, the workers do not take breaks outside of the scheduled breaks, which deprives them of eating during a 12-hour shift.
• Each worker is required to work 11 hours of overtime each month, work that is not paid.
• Overtime is generally mandatory.
• Potential audit fraud.
• Daily attendance records at the factory show the hours worked by employees. Fraudulent alterations were found, with one hour being subtracted from their actual working hours.
• Some overtime is paid, but at lower rates in accordance with labor laws.
• Fire escape routes are not clear in some production departments.
• There is a list of punishments imposed in Jabil for each of the workers.
• Workers depend on overtime to earn a living wage.

Finally, according to the report, they added: “It is the duty of national governments to regulate the conduct of their companies abroad. When, for example, Jabil Circuit does not pay its workers overtime in its various Chinese production facilities, the U.S. government has an obligation to stop them. This is one of the reasons why the American company Jabil is currently able to profit, since its taxes are based on the profits acquired through the theft of wages from its workers in Wuxi.”

Here is the full report: China Labor Watch (CLW)