Samsung has come under renewed criticism from a rights group
for illegal work practices at its Chinese suppliers, a day
after the South Korean electronics giant admitted excessive
overtime and fines for employees in China.
A number of foreign companies have been accused in recent
years of improper labour practices in China, seen as a cheap
source of labour for their production lines.
New York-based China Labor Watch (CLW) said employees at one
of Samsung's suppliers sometimes worked up to 16 hours a day,
with only one day's rest a month.
Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest maker of cell
phones and televisions, said earlier this week a review of
105 of its Chinese suppliers - involving more than 65,000
employees - found illegal work practices, but said the
companies involved would be given two more years to change
their ways.
The audit followed allegations by CLW in August that seven
children younger than 16 were working in one of Samsung's
suppliers in China.
Samsung said the audit had found no evidence of child labour.
It did, however, concede several instances of inadequate
practices, such as overtime hours in excess of legal
regulations and the imposition of a system of fines for
tardiness or absence.
"We have identified the need for initiatives to reduce
employee overtime as a top priority, and we are researching
and developing measures that will eliminate hours beyond
legal limits by the end of 2014," the company said in a
statement.
AUDIT RELIABILITY QUESTIONED
China Labor Watch said a follow-up investigation found that
workers usually work from three to six times the legal
overtime limit.
"The worst situation is in a Samsung supplier factory called
Chitwing Mould Industry (Dongguan) Co., Ltd, where workers'
overtime hours surpass 220 hours per month. Workers here can
work up to 15 or 16 hours per day with perhaps one day of
rest per month," CLW said in a statement.
"Samsung uses an audit system to monitor factories, but
audits are renowned for their lack of reliability. Instead of
audits, Samsung should establish direct channels of
communication with its workers, such as worker committees or
a worker hotline."
Samsung said on Tuesday hotlines were being set up for
workers at supplier firms to report anonymously any inhumane
treatment or violations of labour laws.
Samsung is reviewing 144 more suppliers in China and said the
review would be completed by the end of this year.
The firm also said that from 2013 audits of its 249 suppliers
in China would be conducted by an independent third party.
The move reflects a growing attention on work practices in
China by foreign multinationals including Apple.
Apple and its main contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology
Group, whose subsidiary Hon Hai Precision Industry assembles
Apple devices in China, earlier this year agreed to tackle
violations of conditions among the 1.2 million workers
assembling iPhones and iPads.
That landmark decision could change the way Western companies
do business in China.
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