Apple hit by new Chinese workforce allegations

Advocacy group China Labour Watch has laid a fresh set of allegations at the feet of Apple regarding the conditions placed upon its Chinese workforce.

Bloomberg reports that the organisation has accused Apple’s Taiwanese supplier Pegatron Corp of using underage workers, paying insufficient wages and forcing employees to work overtime”.

86 labour rights violations have been identified in total for a period between March and July of this year. 36 of these are legal breaches and 50 are ethical breaches.

The average worker’s weekly working hours are said to have hit between 66 and 69 hours, far in excess of China’s 49-hour limit.

Apple has vowed to launch a probe into the allegations, saying: We will investigate these new claims thoroughly, ensure that corrective actions are taken where needed and report any violations of our code of conduct. We will not tolerate deviations from our code.”

It is understood that Apple has already conducted 15 audits at Pegatron facilities since 2007

Last year Apple was embroiled in controversy over the conditions that workers at infamous Chinese manufacturer Foxconn were forced to tolerate. It later vowed to cut ties with Chinese suppliers who are found to employ underage workers”.