A few days ago, Samsung was accused by Child Labor Watch over the use of underaged workers at their factories, which constitutes as child labor. At that time Samsung claimed to have been surprised as they have been doing the check themselves, but according to a recent press release by Samsung, it turns out that one of their suppliers had been using underaged workers.
Samsung revealed that they found evidence of child labor at one of their supplier’s factories, Dongguan Shinyang Electronics, and have announced that they would be permanently severing ties with the company if they are found guilty as it goes against Samsung’s practices and rules that they have set out to their suppliers.
Samsung’s initial denial was because they claimed to have done the checks themselves, with the latest check taking place on the 25th of June last month. However it turns out that their supplier had only hired the underaged workers at the end of June, after the check, which is why Samsung weren’t aware of their practices until it was brought to their attention by the Child Labor Watch.
The South Korean tech giant has a zero tolerance policy on child labor, so hopefully with such swift and decisive action, Samsung’s other suppliers will think twice the next time they think they can get away with hiring underaged workers just so they can keep costs down.