Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) -Following a US court decision against Samsung for violating patent laws, the South Korean company is again at the heart of another controversy, this time involving workers at its Chinese plants after US-based China Labor Watch discovered "severe labor abuses" at one of its suppliers, HEG Electronics.
The Chinese subsidiary assembles mobile phones for the South Korean giant in the city of Huizhou. According to China Labor Watch, children under the age of 16 are employed. Its investigations revealed that workers are also forced to do unpaid overtime, and can had their monthly salary (US$ 250) withheld when they asked for better working conditions. They are equally subject to "verbal and physical abuse."
In Henan province, five more plants are under investigation. For its part, Samsung said it would inspect its nearly 250 Chinese partners. It would also conduct on-site inspections by the end of this month on all 105 Chinese companies that make products solely for the company. The others would be required to show that they respect labour laws.
"We are implementing a rigorous plan to address any potential violations," the company said in a statement. The on-site inspections will be carried out by a 100-member team by the end of September, it added.
However, working conditions in China's plants are not much better than those in Samsung's. In fact, "Labor violations aren't restricted to Samsung and are a problem in the electronics industry," said Kevin Slaten, a spokesman for China Labor Watch.
In Communist China, the authorities have banned independent trade unions and failed to look into complaints of labour law violations made over the years.