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After a Chinese labour watchdog fingered Samsung with child labour allegations, the company set to auditing its entire catalogue of factories. Initial results weren’t too great, but now the final results are in — and while there’s no evidence of child labour, there are plenty more problems to worry about.
The company has inspected 105 suppliers who produce components purely for Samsung products. Fortunately, the inspectors found no evidence of child labour — but poor working conditions were rife. Samsung lists “overtime hours in excess of local regulations, management of supplier companies holding copies of labour contracts, and the imposition of a system of fines for lateness or absences”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Samsung has vowed to try and rectify those issues, promising to stamp out discrimination and fines, as well as increasing health and safety standards. It also recommended to the factories that “additional training for managers on sexual harassment and physical and verbal abuse” be instated. Sounds like a good idea. [Samsung via Verge]
Image by opopododo under Creative Commons license
Apple Audit Reveals 106 Cases of Underage Labour in China
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I remember watching a tv programme where Western do-gooders were ‘rescuing’ children working in clothing factories, even though (wrongly of course) they were the sole income earner of their family. The result, further hardship on people suffering horribly already and several of the rescued children ended up working in prostitution rather than have their families starve.
Samsung is not responsible for the conditions of every employee working for every supplier that provides them with parts.
they might not be specificity responsible but socially and morally they are. also this is not about child labour but about working conditions which are actually against the law for the country in the first place.
there is also the fact that bad working conditions which mean staff work longer hours and in stressful environments mean that production is not as good and this could effect building rates and cost Samsung when their products don’t work.
you are right that stopping people from working is wrong, but allowing people to work in the right conditions is right!
And I hate to mention it, as an owner and lover of Samsung products myself, but it is the responsibility of the end user as well. We can’t ignore that. You simply cannot expect businesses to effectively self regulate. A business is not a person, it is a machine, one which has one function – to make money. It is as simple as that. Therefore, WE need to take responsibility and WE need to decide for ourselves what is moral, and not expect these companies to sort it out for us.
To some extent I agree, although there are groups of people in charge of companies who should be morally accountable. The trouble is, it’s game theory. It’s up to a combination of them and us to make moral and social accountability a marketable feature (as much as I hate to say that), like recycling branding on products.
Catch 22.
Samsung and any other company that has the power to enforce a fair work place on their suppliers should do so.
*that have
Right first time, I think.
Didn’t Apple do something similar recently. Look out Samsung, another lawsuit for “copying” Apple’s heading your way.
well done (doffs cap)
Ah, can’t seem to shine a positive light on the story so you’ve turned our attention on to Apple.
Such a Google apologist. Tsk.
1. It was a joke
2. Plenty of positives in this story, Samsung are doing something about working conditions in their suppliers, how could that be a bad thing.
3. How does making a joke about Apple in an article about Samsung have anything to do with Google? Even if this were purely restricted to Samsung products that run Google software how would it make me a “Google Apologist” to make a joke about Apple?
Please explain the thought process behind your bizarre comment.
The profits these guys all turn, it’s kind of inexplicable why this shit still goes on. There’s just no need for it…
Let’s hope they do stamp it out.
Quite shameful that Google, a company that promised to do no evil actually profits from this misery.
It’s also very telling of the sort of business practices that exist at Samsung and Google if it took ‘China Labor Watch’ to initiate this whole thing. Even now, Google aren’t the ones spearheading this audit. Samsung are ‘moved to act’ because they’re worried about a possible backlash. We all know how quickly these things can become viral.
Looks like they’ve preempted anymore negative publicity by being open and honest about how shitty they are.
Google are probably wondering if LG are guilty of the same crimes. Or maybe not.
What’s Google got to do with it?
Lol.
Oh dear Will, has the other tribe made a booboo?