Interns at Foxconn illegally work long hours for Amazon speakers production

China’s Foxconn confesses that it is making underage employees work overtime to handle spikes in demand for Amazon’s smart speakers. The children are also expected to work night shifts. That is against Chinese law.

The news came out in a report by China Labor Watch, which was picked up by The Guardian. It would concern a thousand children between the ages of 16 and 18. They are allowed to work in the factories, but only during the day and without overtime. They come from schools and technical courses in the context of internships and are pressured partly by their teachers to accept extra hours.

They would work ‘far more than the maximum 36 hours per month’; examples are given of children working ten hours a day, six days a week. Those who decline could not do an internship at Foxconn and may not qualify for a scholarship, or even fail their education at all.

A similar report was published last year, from the same source and about the same companies and factories. China Labor Watch states that the situation has only worsened compared to 2018.

Foxconn admitted to The Guardian that the students were working illegal hours and said they would immediately take steps to rectify this. Amazon said it has no tolerance for violations of its suppliers’ code of conduct and regularly sends independent inspectors to its factories. Amazon inspectors have also been placed directly on this case, according to the tech giant.