FLA assessors verified that Foxconn management had amended factory-level policies and procedures regarding hours of work across all three factories, incorporating the legal limit of 36 hours of overtime per month and the maximum of three hours per day. Management had also posted this information in notice boards at all three factories and in LED displays in Longhua and Guanlan. These limits had been incorporated into workers’ orientation training materials at the Guanlan and Longhua facilities and the same was scheduled to occur at the Chengdu facility.
FLA assessors also confirmed that workers at the Longhua and Chengdu facilities worked no more than 60 hours per week during the period March-October 2013; the same was true with respect to the Guanlan facility with the exception of seven weeks during this period when working hours exceeded 60 hours. Workers at Longhua and Chengdu received one day off every seven days, while at Guanlan about one-third of the workers did not receive one day off in every seven during March, April, and September 2013. All three factories exceeded the overtime limit of 36 hours per month during the period March-October 2013.
On average, at Longhua, 67 percent of the workers exceeded 36 hours of overtime per month during this period compared to 56 percent at Guanlan. At Chengdu, 5 percent of workers exceeded 36 hours of overtime per month during the period March-June 2013, but during the period July-October 2013, this increased to between 77.6 percent and 84.3 percent.
The May 2013 verification report had noted increases in the participation of workers in union committees and a corresponding decline in management participation in such committees since the previous verification. Assessors confirmed that no union elections have taken place since the second verification visit took place in January 2013.
Foxconn completed the report on the iDPBG internship program that had been contemplated in the March 2012 action plan. FLA assessors found that no student interns have been employed at the three facilities since January 2013.
Finally, FLA assessors reviewed plans and observed the status of construction of additional exits and toilets at the three facilities. FLA assessors verified that construction was underway, with completion slated for November- December 2013.
Conclusion and next steps
Foxconn and Apple have continued to carry out the robust action plan developed following FLA’s investigation, published on March 28, 2012. Over the last 15 months, steady progress has been made at the three facilities employing an estimated 170,000 workers, and all action items due through July 1, 2013 have been completed except for four. Progress has been made with respect to hours of work, but the three factories are not in compliance with Chinese labor law regarding hours of work. The FLA expects that Participating Company, Apple will continue to monitor compliance at Foxconn with respect to this standard and others and will report on their monitoring efforts to the FLA on an annual basis.