What goes on in a factory? As a consumer, how many of us actually spare a thought for the folks who are behind the scenes, ensuring that the new purchase that you made arrives in pristine condition, but at what price? While advancements have been made in the past to improve work conditions in factories in order to cut down on the number of work-related suicides, it seems that more needs to be done. Human rights organization ‘China Labor Watch’ pointed a finger in the direction of Samsung in 2012, citing that the South Korean giant treated its workers in an “inhumane” manner.
This U.S based group claimed that child labor is more than norm than the exception throughout Samsung’s supplier factories, and student laborers happen to make up for 80% of the entire workforce. Apart from that, these workers have poor working conditions which are akin to modern day slaves, as they have to slog away for long hours on end, in addition to forced overtime. Samsung promised to improve the working conditions since those allegations surfaced, but a recent external audit showed that there was not much improvement made to its China-based factories.
Some of the more pressing issues at the moment include the failure to provide adequate safety equipment to its workers, and excessive working hours, which has long been an albatross around Samsung’s neck since the first accusation a couple of years back.
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