Apple Inc. has placed its Taiwanese manufacturing partner Pegatron Corp. on probation after discovering labor violations, and has said that it will not give them any business until a corrective action is completed, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg writer Mark Gurman wrote in a tweet:
Apple has placed key manufacturing partner Pegatron on probation and said they will not receive any new business until completing corrective action after Apple discovered violations related to a student worker program.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 9, 2020
According to Apple, the Taiwanese company misclassified student workers and allowed some to work nights and overtime, and this was in violation of Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct. There was no evidence of underage or forced labor but Apple discovered that Pegatron falsified paperwork to hide violations. “The individuals at Pegatron responsible for the violations went to extraordinary lengths to evade our oversight mechanisms,” said Apple.
Pegatron Corp. is a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, and is a very significant part of Apple’s global supply chain, which includes other companies like Foxconn and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The company helps Apple manufacture products like the iPhone and was approached by Apple in a bid to expand iPhone production outside of China.
According to Apple, their policies do not allow interns to work overtime or do night shifts. “Pegatron misclassified the student workers in their program and falsified paperwork to disguise violations of our Code, including allowing students to work nights and/or overtime and in some cases to perform work unrelated to their major,” the company said in a statement.
Pegatron has reportedly fired the manager who oversaw the student workers’ program over the violations issue which occurred in the company’s Shanghai and Kunshan campuses in eastern China. According to the company, the students working over-time and being assigned to work unrelated to their major was “not in compliance with local rules and regulations.” Pegatron said that it took quick action and will avoid such future incidents by carefully assessing and monitoring its staff who oversees such tasks.
This is not the first time that one of Apple’s supply partner has been come under the radar for violating labor laws. Apple and its suppliers, in the past, have faced criticism and accusations over labor violations several times and have been targeted by labor activists at numerous occasions. This time, though, Apple was quick to take action and by doing so, it has successfully avoided taking part in the labor violations which its supply partner committed.
