Labor Abuse Report Claims Apple Supplier Is Making Budget iPhone

Labor Abuse Report Claims Apple Supplier Is Making Budget iPhone

A new labor report painting a grim picture of conditions at an Apple supplier factory in Shanghai, China, claims that Apple is working on "a scaled-back, less expensive version of the iPhone."

Monday's report [PDF] from New York-based non-profit China Labor Watch criticizes Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple for allowing alleged poor treatment of factory workers at supplier Pegatron in Shanghai. The organization claims these violations are happening as Apple prepares to launch "its cheaper iPhones."

At this moment, in Shanghai, China, workers in Apple’s supplier factory Pegatron are monotonously working long overtime hours to turn out a scaled-back, less expensive version of the iPhone. Six days a week, the workers making these phones have to work almost 11-hour shifts, 20 minutes of which is unpaid, and the remainder of which is paid at a rate of $1.50 an hour ($268 per month) before overtime.

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The report details Pegatron's alleged labor violations, which include labor abuse, hiring discrimination, underage labor, insufficient wages and poor working conditions. China Labor Watch goes on to point out Apple's code of conduct standards for its suppliers and how Pegatron might be violating 17 of the standards.

While we have not independently confirmed the veracity of the labor complaints, the report does appear to add more grounding to rumors surrounding a potential, upcoming budget model — the so-called "iPhone 5C." Over the weekend, an image of plastic retail packaging for budget iPhones surfaced on a Chinese discussion forum.

At time of writing, Apple had not responded to Mashable's request for comment about the labor report or the mentioned budget iPhone. We will update this post if the company responds.

China Labor Watch had sent investigators to three Pegatron Group factories "to carry out undercover investigations and conduct nearly 200 interviews with workers outside the factories." This happened between March and July of this year. On its website, China Labor Watch says it conducts "in-depth assessments of factories in China that produce toys, bikes, shoes, furniture, clothing, and electronics for some of the largest U.S. companies." Watch more about the non-profit's latest Apple supplier investigation below:

While Apple has reportedly been in close contact with China Labor Watch for several months, a Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman told Bloomberg on Monday the report has “claims that are new to us.”

“We will investigate these new claims thoroughly, ensure that corrective actions are taken where needed and report any violations of our code of conduct,” Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu toldBloomberg. “We will not tolerate deviations from our code.”

Pegatron will also investigate these allegations, Bloomberg reported.

If you're an Apple fan, are you holding out to buy a rumored iPhone 5C or iPhone 5S? Or are you not taking the risk and going for the iPhone 5, 4S or 4? Do labor complaints concern you? Let us know in the comments.