Watchdog Reports Workers’ Rights Violations by ‘iPhone 7’ Supplier Pegatron

China Labor Watch has published a new report this week, which details continued workers’ rights violations at factories owned by Pegatron, one of Apple’s largest iPhone suppliers who is currently manufacturing Apple’s upcoming ‘iPhone 7’ (via 9to5Mac). The industry watchdog has also pointed out similar workers’ rights issues by Foxconn in the past, and today’s report is a follow up to investigations it has been conducting since 2013.

The report highlights that labor conditions at Pegatron are illegal with workers being forced overtime hours, since the wages are too low for employees to live on without working overtime. It also discovered out interns working excessive overtime hours and found employees on production lines who were required to arrive early were unpaid for the extra time. 

Below are the highlights from the report:

• In 2015, workers’ hourly wage was $1.85 USD. In 2016, workers’ hourly wage increased to $2.00 USD. After deductions, this amounts to only $1.60 USD.
• Of the 2015 paystubs, 62% had over 82 hours of overtime work per month. One worker put in 109 hours of overtime work per month, working 293 hours in total.
• Chinese law forbids companies from asking interns to work overtime, however, interns at Pegatron had overtime work amounting to 80 hours per month on average. This is roughly the same amount as full-time employees.
• Workers must rely on overtime pay to support themselves as the base wage is too low. Workers who don’t work overtime only earn around $213 USD after deducting expenses.
• Workers in most production lines must arrive at work 10 minutes earlier than the regular schedule, but the 10 minutes are unpaid.
• Workers spend about 60 minutes each day, passing through the security procedures and ID Checks before entering the workshop. This encroached on workers’ rest time.
• The factory forces workers to work overtime. Asking for leave during peak season is usually not approved.
• Workers are exposed to potential occupational injuries without proper protection.

To read the full report from China Labor Watch, click here.