Apple to investigate claims of poor Pegatron working conditions

Kitguru has been covering the recent news that Pegatron Corp in Taiwan are using underage workers, paying them poor wages and forcing them to work overtime. China Labor Watch, the new York Group found at least 86 labor rights violations while investigating the Pegatron factories from March to July.

Apple are not the only company to use the facilities, however they are the most high profile and therefore need to act quickly. Apple have been in close contact with the Labor Watch for several months and said that the report contains ‘claims that are new to us'. Carolyn Wu, a Beijing based spokeswoman for Apple spoke out in a phone interview, according to a report on Bloomberg.

Apple were the first technology organisation to join the Washington Fair Labor Association last year after criticism from human rights organisations over conditions at suppliers, including Foxconn Technology Group. According to the China Labor Watch, the Pegatron factories are ‘even worse than those at Foxconn'.

Carolyn Wu spoke on behalf of Apple saying “We will investigate these new claims thoroughly, ensure that corrective actions are taken where needed and report any violations of our code of conduct. We will not tolerate deviations from our code.”

The CLW said that three factories they investigated had working hours between 66 and 69 hours, a direct violation of China's 49 hour statutory limit. The group have added that workers were forced to sign forms indicating that their overtime hours were less than the actual levels.

The China Labor Watch said “Apple has not lived up to its own standards. This will lead to Apple’s suppliers abusing labor in order to strengthen their position for receiving orders. In this way, Apple is worsening conditions for workers, not improving them.

Kitguru says: Pegatron's issues are a poor reflection on Apple and the company will have to take action publicly.

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