Mikey Campbell
Apple supplier Foxconn in a statement on Thursday said it has stopped high school interns from working overtime at an iPhone plant in China, a practice that violates the country's labor laws.
According to BBC news, Foxconn is no longer allowing secondary school interns from working more than 40 hours a week.
"Apple is dedicated to ensuring everyone in our supply chain is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve," Apple said in a prepared statement. "We know our work is never done and we'll continue to do all we can to make a positive impact and protect workers in our supply chain."
Earlier this week, a Financial Times report cited accounts of six students who claimed to have regularly worked 11-hour days at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou tasked with building iPhone X units. The interns were reportedly part of a larger group of 3,000 students hired from the Zhengzhou Urban Rail Transit School as part of a three-month paid internship.
At the time, Apple said the interns were working voluntarily and were "compensated and provided benefits." The tech giant did, however, say the students should not have been allowed to put in overtime hours. Foxconn issued a similar statement, saying the group was compensated appropriately, but "did work overtime in violation of our policy."
In their public declarations, both Apple and Foxconn seem to suggest the interns broke company policy by voluntarily working beyond the 40-hour limit. However, at least one student who spoke with the Financial Times claims it was the plant's decision.
"We are being forced by our school to work here. The work has nothing to do with our studies," said one unnamed student who is attending the Zhengzhou Urban Rail Transit School to become a train attendant. The intern went on to claim that she assembles up to 1,200 iPhone X cameras per day.
In its response to the BBC today, Foxconn said it took "immediate action to ensure that no interns are carrying out any overtime work," adding that "interns represent a very small percentage" of its workforce in China.
As the world's most valuable tech company, and an outspoken proponent of workplace responsibility, Apple is under constant scrutiny from human rights groups. Despite attempts to improve workplace conditions, Apple and its suppliers have in the past come under fire for failing to follow Chinese labor guidelines. Indiscretions have included reports of underage workers, excessive work hours and dire living conditions.
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Wesley Hilliard
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19 Comments
Is anyone surprised?
Even if Apple has the best intentions what your suppliers do behind your back is impossible to control. Frankly id be more worried about indications that the students where forced into working there.
By the way i have nothing against internships for high school students. In someways we have gone overboard with child labor laws in the west. It wouldnt hurt to expose students to real jobs before they commit to fixed programs. In this case though it looks like some back office crap took place to get some quick and cheap labor. There is a stink here this article seems to ignore.
I understand the critique of Apple and Foxconn, but at the same time one can only imagine the workplace violations going on in some out of view toaster oven factory supplying brands that sell for razor-thin markups in Walmart and other US and international retailers. Where’s the indignity and shame in those cases? It’s disingenuous to judge and castigate Apple and Foxconn while turning a blind eye to what most assuredly goes on in a large number of third-world workplaces. You should see the conditions I witness here in the Philippines, which here is just a matter of normal existence.
While I agree that Apple and Foxconn have a responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t happen, I also think there is something fishy going on at the Urban Transit School.
The school forces them into internships that are nothing to do with transit operations.
The school pressures them into working illegal hours.
Somebody is exploiting these students. Either they are being forced to hand over a portion of their earnings to someone at the school, or a deal has been struck between a Foxconn manager and the school.