Foxconn Hid Underage Workers During FLA Inspection, Says SACOM

Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) project officer Debby Sze Wan Chan claimed in an interview that Foxconn was "prepared for the inspection" by the Fair Labor Association commissioned by Apple last week.

Speaking to AppleInsider, Chan said she had heard from two Foxconn workers in Chengdu last week that Foxconn hid or relocated underage workers prior to the FLA’s arrival at the facilities that assemble iPhones and iPads.

Chan quoted the workers as having said that “all underage workers, between 16-17 years old, were not assigned any overtime work and some of them were even sent to other departments.”

On working conditions at Foxconn's Chengdu factory, she said:

“The workers always tell us they resemble machines. Their regular day at Foxconn is waking up, queuing up for baths and work, work and go back to the dormitory and sleep. They do not have a social life and they are doing the same monotonous task in the factory for thousands of times a day. If they are not efficient enough or they make some mistakes, they will be yelled at by their supervisor or punished.”

Chan, like many other labor rights activists, believes Apple is well aware of the problems surrounding Foxconn factories.

“Most of the time, the workers are aware of the presence of Apple's representatives inside the factories. It is not the problem that Apple doesn't know the real problems at their suppliers. They know, but it is only because they do not care,” she said.

Chan doubts Apple CEO Tim Cook has “any commitments” to make good on his promise that Apple will strive to improve conditions at its suppliers’ factories.

In fact, Chan suggested she almost got thrown out of Apple’s headquarters when attempting to deliver reports, documentaries and petition cards to the company.

After the receptionist (on Apple’s campus) refused to receive SACOM's materials, she relayed, “…a security guard tried to disperse us and he promised that he would hand the materials to someone in charge, but I haven't heard from them since then,” she said.

ABC News sent a journalist inside the Foxconn factories this week to offer the world the first comprehensive look at the life inside the facilities. Some workers were captured on tape taking breaks just to have a quick nap from extreme exhaustion.