Samsung has a child labor problem

Samsung has suspended its relationship
with a supplier in China after discovering
evidence of child labor at its factory.
China Labor Watch last week accused the supplier
of employing underage workers, along with a host
of other violations including excessive overtime,
lax safety training and discriminatory hiring.
The New York-based watchdog said its
investigation into Dongguan Shinyang Electronics
Co. turned up at least five workers under the age
of 16 -- the legal working age in China -- on a
single production line at the factory.
An investigation by Samsung, initiated after the
report by China Labor Watch was made public,
also found evidence of suspected child labor and
an "illegal hiring process" at the factory.
Three Samsung audits conducted since 2013, the
most recent of which ended in June, had found no
instances of child labor at the supplier.
Phone calls to Dongguan Shinyang Electronics
Co. went unanswered on Monday. An employee at
the manufacturer's parent company, based in
Korea, referred inquiries to the factory in China.
The supplier makes covers and other parts for
Samsung smartphones.
China Labor Watch has repeatedly identified
factories in China that hire underage workers,
often recruited by agencies, to work under the
guise of internships or temporary assignments.
Documents are frequently forged, and underage
workers are not permitted to leave factories of
their own accord. In many cases, students are
put to work to accommodate short-term
production increases.
China Labor Watch, which has in the past
accused Samsung suppliers of wrongdoing, said
the company's audit reports "are meant to
appease investors and don't have any real value
for workers."
"After allegedly inspecting hundreds of suppliers,
Samsung did not find one child worker," the group
said in a statement. "Yet in just one Samsung
supplier factory, China Labor Watch has
uncovered several children employed without
labor contracts, working 11 hours per day and
only being paid for 10 of those hours.

Samsung says it has zero tolerance for child
labor, requires suppliers to verify the age of new
workers, and conduct face-to-face ID checks. In
a statement, the company said it would
strengthen hiring processes in the future and
potentially sever ties with the supplier.
"If the investigations conclude that the supplier
indeed hired children illegally, Samsung will
permanently halt business with the supplier in
accordance with its zero tolerance policy on child
labor," the statement said