14 DAY TRIAL // Unfair labor practices are something that Apple has tried to address for many years already, especially as its Asian suppliers tend to turn to more or less questionable approaches in order to comply with the company’s production requirements.
Most recently, Quanta Computer, which manufactures the Apple Watch in China, has been accused of using high-school students to increase the production capacity at its factory in Chongqing.
A report from the Financial Times reveals that Apple’s Taiwanese supplier is currently facing claims of illegally employing students to build the Apple Watch, with some claiming they have been forced to work on production lines as a condition of graduation.
Sacom, a human rights group based in Hong Kong, is cited as saying that a total of 28 students were sent to the factory as part of what was being described as an internship. All of them, however, had the same responsibilities as full-time workers and even worked overtime and night shifts.
Apple already investigating
The same organization claims it has received information from other students that approximately 120 other high schoolers were brought to Quanta in order to perform repetitive activities “like a robot,” as the report reads.
Apple says it has already started an investigation on the claims, but no other specifics were provided. Quanta makes the Apple Watch Series 4, and earlier this year, it was speculated that Apple would accelerate production at a second supplier, Compal Electronics, in order to meet its required output.
It’s believed that Quanta’s illegal labor practices may be the result of the company’s struggle to secure more Apple orders. Production at Compal’s facilities was originally projected to begin in November.
No further details were released, but this isn’t the first time Apple has to deal with such claims, though lately, Cupertino has been showing zero tolerance for such approaches.