SHANGHAI: Apple Inc and manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology Co Ltd rebutted allegations of lapses in people management levelled by a non-profit monitor of worker rights, though confirmed they employed too many temporary workers.
The response comes after China Labour Watch issued a lengthy report accusing the two companies of breaching numerous Chinese labour laws, including one barring temporary staff from exceeding 10 per cent of the total workforce.
US tech firm Apple relies heavily on Taiwan’s Foxconn and its Chinese manufacturing facilities to produce devices such as the iPhone, the next line of which will be unveiled on Tuesday.
In a statement, Apple said it investigated the percentage of temporary workers among the overall workforce and found it “exceeded our standards”. It said it was working with Foxconn to “immediately resolve the issue”.
Advertisement Apple also said it discovered interns at a supplier facility had worked overtime at night, violating company policy, and that “this issue has been corrected.” It said the interns worked overtime voluntarily and were properly compensated.
Foxconn separately confirmed over-reliance on temporary workers, known internally dispatch workers.
“We did find 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,” Foxconn said. — Reuters
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