Last month, after The Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note maker was criticized for partnering with an electronics manufacturer (alleged of employing minors as workers), it soon announced that all of their employees are of legal working age. In one statement Samsung said the following: “Samsung holds itself and its supplier companies to the highest standards, We have zero tolerance policy on child labor violations and are therefore conducting field audits to ensure all our facilities in China, whether supplier facilities or full-owned facilities, are compliant with applicable labor laws and Samsung’s labor and employment right policies.”
Last month, when watchdog group China Labor Watch released their report, it said that Samsung’s partner (HEG Electronics) employed at least 7 children under the age of 16. The company sent a team of investigators to China to determine whether the said Samsung supplier was guilty of child labor abuses. The investigators found that some interns and student workers were under 18 but are all older than 16. In China, 16 is the legal age for employment. The investigators did not find employees under the age of 16. However, they did find out that some employees are made to work overtime and “beyond local regulations”; they were also fined for being tardy (late); and workers do not have access to medical clinics.
