Apple faces flak for 'severe' worker rights violations in China

Software manufacturer Apple has been reportedly accused of violating worker's rights at Chinese factories of one of its suppliers, the Pegatron group.

According to the BBC, the China Labour Watch has alleged that three factories of Pegatron violate a 'great number of international and Chinese laws and standards' including underage labour, contract violations and excessive working hours.

Apple said that it is committed to providing safe and fair working conditions throughout its supply chain and will investigate the allegations immediately.

Pegatron's chief executive, Jason Cheng said that the firm took the allegations 'very seriously' and will take immediate actions to correct any violations to Chinese labour laws and its own code of conduct.

The report said that Apple was alleged with similar claims in the past when one of its biggest suppliers, Foxconn was accused of violating worker rights.

Executive director of China Labor Watch, Li Qiang said that the organization's investigations showed that labour conditions at Pegatron factories are even worse than those at Foxconn factories and workers were forced to sign forms indicating that their overtime hours were less than the actual levels.

Their investigation found that average weekly working hours in the three factories were approximately 66 hours, 67 hours, and 69 hours, respectively.

Meanwhile, Apple denying the claims said that it will thoroughly look in to the matter and if their audits find that workers have been underpaid or denied compensation for any time they've worked, Pegatron will be required to reimburse them in full, the report added.