Violations found at Foxconn factories

<b>week in review</b> Apple supplier promises improvements, while RIM tries to reverse downward course. Also: Facebook snooping.

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Steven Musil

March 30, 2012 9:37 a.m. PT

3 min read

week in review Violations in wages and overtime were found at Foxconn during an independent audit of the Chinese manufacturing giant.

Foxconn workers making Apple products. Apple

The Fair Labor Association's audit of Foxconn, which was posted to the FLA's Web site Thursday, found all three factories in the region to be in violation of both the labor organization's code standard and Chinese law in hours worked by employees. The FLA said these factories "exceeded" 60 hours per worker, which Foxconn has now said will be scaled back to 49 hours per week by July 1, 2013.

Foxconn manufactures gadgets for numerous technology giants from Apple to Hewlett-Packard. This particular audit came at Apple's request, and is the first in a much larger effort to evaluate working conditions in Apple's supply chain.

The FLA said Foxconn had pledged to remedy the violations, but that promise was met with some skepticism by at least one labor-rights watchdog, which pointed out that the FLA lays out no consequences for Foxconn if the violations continue to persist. And some workers are reported concerned that fewer hours will just mean less pay.
• Apple CEO Cook visits Foxconn iPhone factory
• Apple CEO Cook meets with Chinese government officials

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