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Apple is investigating a plant in southwestern China after a labor rights group said the technology giant's supplier had forced students to work "like robots" to assemble its plant. famous Apple Watch.
Many were forced to work to earn their professional degree and had to work at night, according to a survey conducted by a Hong Kong-based NGO, Student and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM).
During the summer, SACOM interviewed 28 students from the factory of Chongqing Municipality. They all said they did not voluntarily apply, the report released last week reported.
According to SACOM, they worked under the pretext of "internships", a widespread practice in China, manufacturers joining vocational schools to provide workers and fill labor shortages when setting up production of new models or the Christmas period.
"If we refuse to come, our school will refuse us the certificate of graduation," said a student specializing in electronic commerce, according to SACOM.
The US titan has sold tens of millions of Apple watches – which can cost up to 1,499 USD (about 1.1 lakhs) – since its launch three years ago. The general manager, Tim Cook, said that it was the most popular watch in the world.
In some cases, Chinese labor law permits internships in the manufacturing sector, but SACOM found that the work had "literally nothing to do with apprenticeship" and violated certain provisions of the labor law of the country authorizing work internally in factories.
"We are like robots on the production lines," said an 18-year-old student at SACOM. "We repeat the same procedure hundreds of thousands of times each day, like a robot."
Others said they were working at night from 8 pm to 8 am with minimal breaks, according to SACOM.
The Chongqing plant is operated by Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, and also produces for other brands. Quanta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
Wei Gu, spokesperson for Apple, said: "We are urgently investigating the report that trainee students, added in September, are working overtime and night shifts."
Wei noted that Quanta Chongqing was a new Apple supplier and had been audited three times between March and June without finding trainee students.
Worker students told SACOM that student labor was widespread in the factory.
The assembly lines that transplanted together Apple watches that had failed a quality control were almost entirely composed of student workers, explained a trainee at SACOM.
"The plant could not work without student workers," said a student at SACOM.
The NGO has asked Apple to conduct an investigation and put the labor practices in line with the company's policies and those of the central and local Chinese government.
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