CLW investigation finds tough working conditions at mega iPhone factory, FT says

Employees at the world’s largest Apple (AAPL) iPhone factory, run by Foxconn (HNHPF), in Zhengzhou continue to face unstable conditions, working many hours of overtime, dealing with wage delays and suffering discrimination against ethnic minorities, the Financial Times’ Eleanor Olcott reports, citing China Labor Watch. The labor rights group found that over half of the estimated 200,000 staff employed during peak season at the factory are seasonal employees known as ‘dispatch workers’ despite a Chinese law limiting the use of such staff at 10% of a company’s workforce. Additionally, CLW discovered that dispatch workers, who are not entitled to the same benefits as full-time employees, faced staggered payment schedules that withheld part of their wages to stop them from quitting during peak periods.