14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the Mail on Sunday report about the Foxconn plant was not exactly a vicious attack as the company claimed, and it depicted a pretty good image of reality.
After initially denying any wrongdoing, and insisting that it is complying with local laws, Foxconn has turned around and is now singing a different tune, admitting that they are asking employees to work about 80 extra hours each month, a clear violation of Chinese labor laws that do not allow a company to ask for more than 36 extra hours each month.
Company spokesman Li Zong has also stated that the company's complicated salary structure has caused misunderstandings, and that it is in compliance with the minimum salary standards of the Shenzhen local government.
To top it all off, Zong has tried to shift the focus away from Foxconn to Apple by stating that Apple "sent a special team" to the site of the factories to investigate the matter, but "found no problem."
While is indeed investigating the Foxconn factory, the Cupertino Company has made no statement on their findings. As such, the statement that Apple "found no problem" is a bit hard to swallow from a company that has vehemently denied any wrongdoing only to then admit that they were in fact breaking laws. It seems highly unlikely that Apple would, in clear contradiction of their own supplier code of conduct, find no problem with Foxconn breaking the local laws, and Foxconn's attempt to pass the blame on to Apple and make it look like it was somehow Apple responsible for their breaking of the law will definitely not make Steve Jobs very happy.
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