Samsung Electronics Co yesterday said it halted business with a supplier in China over suspected use of child workers, the first time it has taken such a step, after criticism that its monitoring of labor practices at suppliers was inadequate.
The decision comes less than a week after US-based China Labor Watch said it found “at least five child workers” without contracts at the supplier and called Samsung’s monitoring process to halt such practices “ineffective.”
Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, said it conducted three audits since last year of the supplier, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea’s Shinyang Engineering Co, the latest of which ended on June 25.
However, another investigation prompted by the watchdog’s report led to evidence of what Samsung called suspected child labor, pointing to holes in the tech giant’s ability to enforce its labor guidelines for Chinese suppliers.
“The Chinese authorities are also looking into the case,” Samsung said in its statement yesterday.
It said it would permanently cut all ties with the supplier if the allegations were true, in line with its zero-tolerance policy on child workers.
Dongguan Shinyang Electronics Co and Shinyang Engineering could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts to contact them by telephone yesterday.
Labor practices at Samsung suppliers have come under scrutiny since 2012, when China Labor Watch said seven children younger than 16 were working for one of the electronics giant’s China-based suppliers.
Chinese labor law forbids hiring workers under 16.
The South Korean firm later said it found no evidence of child labor following those accusations, although acknowledging other problems including overtime hours in excess of regulations.
In November 2012, Samsung established a code of conduct for suppliers in line with standards set by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition. It also asked suppliers to sign a compliance agreement to prevent child labor.
In its annual sustainability report, published on June 30, the firm said that a third-party audit of 100 Chinese suppliers found no instances of child labour.
However, the report cited other problems with minors of legal working age but 18 or younger found working with chemical handling processes at 48 suppliers and a majority of suppliers not complying with China’s laws on overtime.
Samsung said it demanded immediate action to correct such behavior.
However, China Labor Watch executive director Li Qiang (李強) last week said that Samsung’s social responsibility reports were an “advertisement” and that its efforts had so far had failed to bring improvements for workers.
“What Samsung says is not important; what’s important is their actions,” Li said.
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