Apple’s Supplier In China Faces Labor Violations

A report released by two worker-right groups claimed that Apple's manufacturing partner in China has violated various safety and environmental regulations, Market Watch reported.

The facility in question is Catcher Technology Co., a supplier of metal casings for Apple and other top electronics companies.

The organizations Green America and China Labor Watch highlighted the violations of Catcher in their report released on Thursday.

According to the two groups, some of Catcher's employees at its factory in China use toxic chemicals in their work without the proper safety and protective equipment.

The staff members are also required by the company to work overtime for up to 100 hours per month. Most of them report to their jobs six days in a week and work while standing for more than 10 hours a day.  

The organizations also noted in the report that the factory's windows and fire exits remain locked even during work hours.

Catcher also allegedly dumps industrial waste such as oil and scrap metal into sewers which lead to rivers. In addition, the highly flammable material aluminum-magnesium alloy dust is being used by the company as part of its manufacturing process.

Green America and China Labor Watch mentioned that the findings of their report were based on face-to-face interviews they had with 100 employees of Catcher. The organizations also revealed that they paid a person to work at the plant in August of this year to observe Catcher's labor policies.

Upon learning about the report, Catcher said it will conduct its own investigation on its manufacturing facility, according to the International Business Times.

"We are deeply concerned about the claims...and we take the report very seriously," the company's CFO James Wu said in a statement. "We are committed to following Apple's supplier code of conduct and will investigate thoroughly."

In a separate statement, Apple said that it works closely with Catcher in monitoring the working hours of its employees and strictly employs the 60-hour workweek limit, Wall Street Journal reported.

The Cupertino-based tech company also regularly checks the factory's manufacturing process to ensure that it is in line with international safety standards.

Like Catcher, Apple will also launch its own investigation on the factory.