Underage labor claims push Samsung to investigate Chinese factory

[Rick]

Although Apple's Foxconn ordeal eventually managed to slip beyond the spotlight, Samsung may be next in line for a public flogging due to workforce abuse. China Labor Watch is reporting a major Samsung supplier, HEG Electronics, has been employing workers under the legal working age of 16.

China Labor Watch is a New York-based organization which aims to keep manufacturers (and the companies who work with them) accountable for poor labor conditions and violations. Readers can view their full report (pdf), replete with the CLW's findings dozens of photos.

This isn't the first time such reports have surfaced, but Samsung found two other similar claims this year to be false alarms. However, unlike previous inspections, Samsung will be sending representatives from its Korean headquarters. That differs slightly from past inspections, which were performed by third-party Chinese contractors. Samsung likely believes sending its own inspectors will help bolster public confidence in how seriously the company takes these matters.

When asked about the matter by various news agencies, Samsung issued this blanket response:

Samsung Electronics has conducted two separate on-site inspections on HEG's working conditions this year but found no irregularities on those occasions. A team of inspectors consisting of Samsung personnel from Korea headquarters will be dispatched to Huizhou, China on August 9, and it will immediately launch an investigation and take appropriate measures to correct any problems that may surface. Samsung Electronics is a company held to the highest standards of working conditions and we try to maintain that at our facilities and the facilities of partner companies around the world.

The CLW also discovered that child laborers were working the same hours as adults (11 to 13 hours per day) but received 30 percent less pay than their grown-up counterparts. According to the report, most of HEG's workforce is comprised of workers under the age of 18; however, it is unclear how many of those workers are under the legal age of 16.

Whether or not evidence of underage labor will be found is uncertain, but as The Verge points out, Samsung's public announcement offers HEG Electronics time to cover up potential wrongdoings. Samsung will be visiting the Huizhou facility in China on August 9.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/49704-underage-labor-claims-push-samsung-to-investigate-chinese-factory.html

 

[Guest]

The story was posted at 7am Beijing time on 9th August, and it says that the team from Korea will be visiting China on 9th August, I.e. the same day. Yet the tone seems to suggest that Samsung is dragging its feet. Am I missing something ?

 

[SNGX1275]

Although Apple's Foxconn ordeal has managed to escape the spotlight, Samsung may be next in line for a public flogging due to workforce abuse. China Labor Watch is reporting a major Samsung supplier, HEG Electronics, has been employing workers under the legal……

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LOL what? Apple's Foxconn ordeal was a huge story on tech sites everywhere. Right? Didn't everyone make fun of the 'fair labor conditions' and everyone is 'jumping' for joy, making light of the suicide nets and all that?

 

[Rick]

It *was* a big deal, but not anymore, which is what that was supposed to mean. I can see the confusion though.

The story was posted at 7am Beijing time on 9th August, and it says that the team from Korea will be visiting China on 9th August, I.e. the same day. Yet the tone seems to suggest that Samsung is dragging its feet. Am I missing something ?

The folks at The Verge were criticizing the fact that Samsung chose not to slip in unannounced, but rather made a public announcement giving the factory possibly up to two days to prepare.
Also, I had originally considered the time difference, but Samsung's statement is intended for a U.S. audience. I don't believe they are referring to August 9 in Beijing time. The original report broke on August 7, Western time.

 

[SNGX1275]

Ok, because I can remember at least one here making "jumping" jokes about how well Apple's workers were doing at foxconn plants. But there were others joining in on that same general idea.

 

[Rick]

Sadly, me too.

 

[Guest]

This is really a difficult thing to check out unless there will be serious envolvement by organisation and the chinese government (and I highly doubt about their sensitivity in these matters). Otherwise, how an inspector who strolls around in the corridors for a few days (untill this matter is burried) is going to find who's under 16 if their fabricated factory registration says 18? Major companies doesn't care, or even, who says they know what is really happening in the factories they have contracted with? They' re not supposed to. By the priliminary tours to the facilities? Or by the permanent reluctunt stuff they have established there (if there is such)? And the chinese factories doesn't care a lot more. There are armies of penniless workers just behind the corner.

 

[SNGX1275]

I agree guest above... you can fake a lot of stuff when inspectors come by. Lots of food places pass inspection because they get word an inspector is coming by and they clean up real quick when in reality they are in violation. So now that Apple and Samsung have been scrutinized.. what are the thoughts?

Everything is bad over there, according to "western" standards. And there are lots of salary vs purchase price comparisons, but I don't think they are really valid. Maybe tech is a lot more expensive even in the places they produce it, but what about other goods? These people that work in the factories live on some amount of money a year, and that is higher than others that live nearby, perhaps comparing their iPad buying potential with someone in the West isn't a fair example?

 

[Guest]

[FONT=Helvetica]"The folks at The Verge were criticizing the fact that Samsung chose not to slip in unannounced, but rather made a public announcement giving the factory possibly up to two days to prepare."[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica]This again is absurd. CLW made a public press release so what is Samsung supposed to do ? Of course they have to respond immediately and publicly. What are they going to say ? Of course that they are investigating and doing so immediately.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica]If CLW wanted to stop the practice, they should have given Samsung a heads up and 7 days to do their own investigation before going public. [/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica]Are folks really that blind to the world of PR and self-interest ?[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica] [/FONT]

 

[gwailo247]

So anyone want to explain to me how having so many of your workers commit suicide that you need to install special netting to curb the practice is equivalent to hiring underage workers?

Since of course we had to start bringing Apple into this, because, you know, now this makes what Apple did ok.

Let's not focus on the fact that one resulted in many deaths, hey they're both labor code violations.

 

[Neojt]

how is it Samsung fault if a Chinese tird party overworkes Chinese employee ????

Its a good thing to get big compagnies involve in a way cuz they have leverage over these tird parties but why dirty up the Samsung or Apple names over this its not like they say weel give you contracts if you overwork you employees!

 

[Chazz]

So anyone want to explain to me how having so many of your workers commit suicide that you need to install special netting to curb the practice is equivalent to hiring underage workers?

Since of course we had to start bringing Apple into this, because, you know, now this makes what Apple did ok.

Let's not focus on the fact that one resulted in many deaths, hey they're both labor code violations.

I don't like Apple as much as the next person, but what did Apple do exactly? They outsourced their manufacturing just like almost every other U.S. company out there. It's more of Foxconn that is to blame.

 

[gwailo247]

I don't like Apple as much as the next person, but what did Apple do exactly? They outsourced their manufacturing just like almost every other U.S. company out there. It's more of Foxconn that is to blame.

Of course, Apple per se did nothing. But look at Nike in the 1990s and using little kids to make shoes. I'm sure they didn't direct the companies they hired to make their shoes to hire kids, but the companies probably did so in order to turn a larger profit. And Nike got the blame and huge PR fallout.

The problem that a lot of people had with Apple in this instance was that they have by far the largest profit margins per item sold compared to everyone else. Huge.

And you don't have to be Genius to extrapolate that the reason that Foxconn workers were killing themselves was due to tough working conditions. And I'm pretty sure no matter how you slice it, these working conditions could have been alleviated by investing more money, be it hiring more workers to cut down on working hours, change conditions inside the factory, whatever. So the point was that Apple was making huge profits on their items while the people making their items were killing themselves.

Of course everyone outsources, but Apple just happens to make larger profits. Apple probably could have Foxconn improve working conditions at the plants (which they can, lets not kid ourselves that Apple has no power there), and still have made huge profit margins. So they became the exemplification of greedy capitalists.

My main point is that some people should not start bringing up Apple in every conversation, and then complain that Apple gets bashed. We could have just been talking about Samsung, but no, as usual, some people have to start talking about Apple. And in this case it was to somehow equate people killing themselves to hiring of underage workers. Not the same thing by a long shot. So why bring up Apple? And moreover why outright criticize people on this site for not having the same outrage at the hiring of underage workers as they did for people killing themselves?

Now if Samsung workers were also killing themselves due to intolerable working conditions, and nobody on this site cared, then I suppose the case can be made for bringing up Apple and the hypocrisy. But then I doubt there are many people on this site that really care so much about a material item so much that they feel the need to defend it, or put down competing items every time an opportunity arises.

 

[SNGX1275]

ect.

This time Apple was directly mentioned in the article. I didn't just pull Apple out of the blue rushing to defend it. Samsung and Apple have been in headlines for months (years) about their similarities. Everything about this screams similarity to Apple. At this time I don't have anything to add to my argument made above. You can't use this 'off topic, but came in touting Apple out of nowhere' defense this time.

 

[ReederOnTheRun]

I don't like Apple as much as the next person, but what did Apple do exactly? They outsourced their manufacturing just like almost every other U.S. company out there. It's more of Foxconn that is to blame.

Of course, Apple per se did nothing. But look at Nike in the 1990s and using little kids to make shoes. I'm sure they didn't direct the companies they hired to make their shoes to hire kids, but the companies probably did so in order to turn a larger profit. And Nike got the blame and huge PR fallout.

The problem that a lot of people had with Apple in this instance was that they have by far the largest profit margins per item sold compared to everyone else. Huge.

And you don't have to be Genius to extrapolate that the reason that Foxconn workers were killing themselves was due to tough working conditions. And I'm pretty sure no matter how you slice it, these working conditions could have been alleviated by investing more money, be it hiring more workers to cut down on working hours, change conditions inside the factory, whatever. So the point was that Apple was making huge profits on their items while the people making their items were killing themselves.

Of course everyone outsources, but Apple just happens to make larger profits. Apple probably could have Foxconn improve working conditions at the plants (which they can, lets not kid ourselves that Apple has no power there), and still have made huge profit margins. So they became the exemplification of greedy capitalists.

My main point is that some people should not start bringing up Apple in every conversation, and then complain that Apple gets bashed. We could have just been talking about Samsung, but no, as usual, some people have to start talking about Apple. And in this case it was to somehow equate people killing themselves to hiring of underage workers. Not the same thing by a long shot. So why bring up Apple? And moreover why outright criticize people on this site for not having the same outrage at the hiring of underage workers as they did for people killing themselves?

Now if Samsung workers were also killing themselves due to intolerable working conditions, and nobody on this site cared, then I suppose the case can be made for bringing up Apple and the hypocrisy. But then I doubt there are many people on this site that really care so much about a material item so much that they feel the need to defend it, or put down competing items every time an opportunity arises.

Listen to gwailo247, gwailo247 gets it.