A human-rights group has recently infiltrated a Chinese factory that is making the new low-cost iPhone, nicknamed the iPhone Lite or iPhone C, and has discovered dozens of violations of labor rights according to a report released by the group on Monday.
China Labor watch said it found violations of the law and of Apple's pledges about working conditions at factories operated by Pegatron Corp., a Taiwanese-based company.
According to the Associated Press, via ABC News, conditions in the factories producing iPhones, and other popular Apple products have been under scrutiny following some complaints about labor and environmental violations by Foxconn, a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. that also works to help build Apple devices.
Apple released a satement saying it was "Committed to providing safe and fair working conditions" and would investigate the claims about Pegatron as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Pegatron's chief executive promised, in a separate statement, to investigate the crimes.
According to China Labor Watch, it investigated two factories in Shanghai and one in Suzhou that employ a total of 70,000 people. Among the various violations included discrimination against ethnic minorities and women, excessive work hours, poor living conditions, health and safety problems and pollution. In its report, China Labor Watch said a majority of Pegatron's employees worked 66 to 69 hours a week, far above China's legal limit of 49 hours. Pregnant women were required to work 11-hour days, more than the legal limit of eight. Furthermore, some employees were pressured to falsify time cards in order to hide the work-hour violations.
Apple has regularly done audits of the factories where its products are made since 2007. It even did a surprise audit on the Pegatron facilities in the past 18 months.
"Apple is committed to providing safe and fair working conditions throughout our supply chain," the company said in a statement. "If our audits find that workers have been underpaid or denied compensation for any time they've worked, we will require that Pegatron reimburse them in full."
Apple has published a code of conduct for its suppliers following last year's public incident with Foxconn factories and has since joined the Fair Labor Association, a worker rights monitoring group. The company said in August improvements it recommended were being carried out ahead of schedule.
