It was reported recently that student interns at Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn were working illegal overtime for assembling the iPhone X. Some interns had revealed that they were working 11-hour days regularly to assemble the new flagship smartphone. These long work hours are illegal for student interns as per the country’s laws. Apple had said that the students “should not have been allowed to work overtime,” and Foxconn has now put an end to that.
The student interns were reportedly 17 to 19 years old. They had to complete a three-month internship at Foxconn before they could graduate.
One student had claimed that the work they were doing wasn’t related to their studies. That student also claimed to have assembled as many as 1,200 iPhone X cameras every single day.
In their initial responses, Apple and Foxconn both said that the students were not “forced” to work beyond the legal hourly limits. However, they did acknowledge that some cases of students working illegal overtime do exist.
Foxconn has now confirmed to the BCC that it has taken immediate action to ensure that no student interns carry out any overtime work at its manufacturing facilities. Foxconn added that the interns make up a “very small percentage” of its workforce in China and that the breach of labor laws was also inconsistent with its own policies.
Filed in . Read more about Foxconn and iPhone X. Source: bbc