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ST. PETERSBURG — New York City-based workers' right group China Labor Watch is reporting that an undercover investigation it conducted found ethical and legal labor violations at a manufacturing factory in Wuxi, China, owned by Jabil Circuit Inc.
The factory is reportedly producing an unannounced inexpensive version of the iPhone for Apple Inc., the watch organization says in a statement.
The organization charges, among other things, that the Jabil factory allegedly failed to pay overtime wages, had monthly mandatory overtime above the legal limit; had workers do more than 11.5 hours of standing work per day and discriminated in its hiring.
In an email to the Business Observer, Jabil says it takes workplace safety seriously and will be investing the allegations to see if they are credible and if so, it will take action to ensure they will be corrected. It says an audit team is already en route to Wuxi to thoroughly investigate these claims.
In addition, it says that last month, Eric Austermann, Jabil's vice president of social responsibility, was in China conducting audits at its facilities, including Jabil Wuxi, and that some of the issues citied in the report were picked up at that time and have been corrected.
Further, Jabil says in the email that over the past three years, it has elevated social and environmental responsibility to an executive-level position reporting directly to Jabil's chief operating officer. It has also developed Global Dormitory Standards, a global policy prohibiting pregnancy testing, and a policy stipulating 18 as the minimum age for employment. The firm has also engaged a consultant to train environmental, health and safety employees to better assess, recognize and control process hazards.
“We are disheartened that there are allegations that we are not living up to our own standards, yet we are proud of the progress we've made in ensuring every Jabil employee is treated with dignity and respect and provided the opportunity for personal and professional growth,” the company says in its email.
China Labor Watch says in a statement it “views Chinese workers' rights as inalienable human rights and is dedicated to promoting workers' fair redistribution of wealth under globalization.” The group is well known for reporting on alleged labor abuses at Chinese factories used by Apple, notably including Foxconn and Pegatron. However, the new report is unusual because the Chinese factory is owned by a U.S. company.
The English version of the report is available here.
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