Foxconn Was Hiding Underage Workers During Audits

That's where your iPhone comes from

 As much as people love their iPhones, they can't help but wonder how they were made. And recent reports revealing employee treatment at Foxconn made them feel even worse about their purchase of an iDevice. Now, an interview with the Hong-Kong based Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), has produced one of the most frightening reports yet; Foxconn has been hiding their underage workers during audits.

Apple allows 16 and 17 year-olds to work in Foxconn factories if the local laws do, but they can't work in particularly dangerous fields, and they can't work overtime. According to SACOM's representative, Foxconn doesn't follow these two rules, so when they found out, probably through intelligence, that the Fair Labor Association was going to inspect their procedures, they tidied up, but only for the duration of the inspection.

Two Foxconn workers in the town of Zhengou said that Foxconn was "prepared for inspection." One even said that "all underage workers, 16 or 17, were not assigned any overtime work, and some were even sent to other departments." Other reports found that this isn't the only thing Foxconn does to prepare for inspections. They often tell their employees that if they tell the inspectors how badly they're being treated, they'll be fired immediately.

Thousands of Applicants Line Up for Jobs and Foxconn Despite Awful Living Conditions

Applicants line up for jobs at Foxconn

$261/mo salaries. 14 suicides. 3 people killed in factory explosions, and at least 30 wounded. Thousands lining up for jobs. Yes, that's right. Despite the awful living conditions of Foxconn, the company that produces iPhones, iPods, and iPads, when the company announced they were hiring 100,000 more people in the city of Zengzhou, thousands of people, job applications in hand, formed a 200 meter long line before the factory.

Foxconn announced that in order to increase production of iPhones, they wanted to double their workforce in Zengzhou, a large city in northern China. And for some odd reason, thousands of people took up the offer, probably after reading government advertisements for the job. The advertisments showed the $261/mo salary, along with the possbility of getting a raise to $376-$509.

Yet, reports of the living conditions in these factories are awful. Machines sometimes blow up, and the labor is so intense that many workers choose to commit suicide. While Foxconn advertises food and dormitory spaces, workers are given very low-quality food and crammed into tight spaces. Bunkbeds are extremely narrow and can have 5 or more bunks on one bed. Howcome Foxconn didn't get in trouble earlier, you ask? Well, when inspectors came and questioned employees about living conditions, Foxconn told them that if they didn't say they were very happy with their treatment, they would be fired. Awareness about the awful treatment that employees receive was recently highlighted by several New York Times articles, and Tim Cook even showed concern for workers. Apple even made a page on its website about "supplier responsibility," but the page is quite inaccurate, saying that "Apple does not tolerate underage labor" and "We even go further with safety training and worker well-being programs.