Foxconn admits hiring underage interns 

Foxconn admits hiring underage interns 

 

A Taiwan-based manufacturer of electronic devices including Apple's iPhone admitted this week to hiring underage workers, some as young as 14.

 

Foxconn disclosed that it is looking into reports of underage interns at one of its facilities, according to a report on tech site CNET.

 

"This is not only a violation of China's labor law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy and immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions," CNET quoted Foxconn as saying in an emailed statement.

 

"We are also carrying out a full investigation, in cooperation with the respective educational institutions, to determine how this happened and the actions that must be taken by our company to ensure that it can never happen again," Foxconn added.

 

It added it takes "full responsibility" for these violations, and "we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action."

 

Foxconn also said that it will "immediately" terminate any employee found to have been responsible for the violations.

 

The firm conducted an internal investigation at its Yantai facility in Shandong Province. It found some interns there were aged 14 to 16. The legal working age in China is 16.

 

Earlier, the non-government organization China Labor Watch claimed it was able to confirm the Yantai facility had interns as young as 14.

 

"These underage interns were mainly sent to Foxconn by schools, but Foxconn did not check the IDs of these young interns," China Labor Watch.

 

It added the schools involved in this incident should be responsible, "but Foxconn is also culpable for not confirming the ages of their workers."

 

CNET said the Yantai issue came a month after another Foxconn facility in Jiangsu province in China was accused of improperly having interns work at the production line.

 

The production line had produced iPhone accessories, including USB cables. Foxconn denied that claim.

 

Earlier this year, Apple requested the Fair Labor Association launch an investigation into the manufacturer's business practices.

 

The investigation yielded a host of violations, including excessive overtime and improper pay, CNET said.

 

At the time, Foxconn said it would amend its policies to address the FLA's concerns.

 

"In August, Foxconn was found to have addressed the majority of the complaints, but has several more it needs to rectify by the middle of next year," CNET said.

 

Other campuses

 

A separate report on TechHive.com said Foxconn, which employs 1.2 million workers in China, regularly recruits students from vocational schools as part of its internship program.

 

But it said Foxconn claimed it found no evidence of similar violations in its other campuses in China, at least for now.

 

"We have found no evidence of similar violations in any of our other campuses in China, but we will not hesitate to take immediate action in any campus if any violations are discovered," the company said. .

In the case of the Yantai factory, Foxconn said it would work with the local government to check that the vocational schools helping organize the internships comply with company policies and Chinese labor laws. — ELR, GMA News