Chinese Apple Watch supplier under fire for ‘forcing students to work like robots’
- Report by Hong Kong labour rights group claims plant in Chongqing forced vocational students to work as ‘interns’ if they wanted to get their degrees
- US tech giant now investigating factor following allegations by Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour
Apple is investigating a factory in southwest China after a labour rights group said the tech giant’s supplier forced student workers to work “like robots” to assemble its popular Apple Watch.
Many were forced to work to get their vocational degrees and had to do night shifts, according to an investigation by Hong Kong-based NGO Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM).
SACOM interviewed 28 students at the plant in Chongqing municipality over the summer, and all of them said they had not voluntarily applied to work there, according to the report published last week.
They worked under the guise of “internships”, SACOM said, a practice rights groups say is widespread in China as manufacturers pair up with vocational schools to supply workers and fill labour shortages when they ramp up production for new models or the Christmas rush.
“Our graduation certificate will be withheld by the school if we refuse to come,” said one student majoring in e-commerce, according to SACOM.
The US titan has sold tens of millions of Apple Watches – which can cost up to US$1,499 – since it was launched three years ago and chief executive Tim Cook said it was the most popular watch in the world.
