As per an Apple spokesperson, the tech giant dispatched independent auditors to undertake additional detailed assessments following recent concerns.
American tech giant Apple has placed its iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn’s Chennai unit on probation due to cleanliness and hygiene issues at their staff dormitory and dining areas. On visiting one such dormitory where the women staff had been staying, WION witnessed cramped spaces and poor conditions in which the women were forced to stay.
During the visit, a team of Tamil Nadu Police personnel was seen occupying the rooms and had to place their belongings in the unhygienic rooms. However, the cops refused to divulge reasons for their presence there.
The building housing the dormitories was a short walk away from and fairly unnoticeable from the nearby main road. The three-storeyed building, painted in pale yellow, appeared quite clean from a distance but unveiled an entirely different picture upon entering the rooms.
With over 50 rooms, the building was once occupied by over 250 women workers.
A space of 150 sq. feet is fitted with a single ceiling fan. Each room is known to have been used by up to seven women workers. Despite having a window, the ground floor rooms hardly had any natural ventilation due to a high compound wall ahead. There were no beds or mattresses insight in any of the rooms. Neither did they have attached bathrooms or toilets. The only accessible toilets, bathrooms and the washing area were around the inner corner of the building.
Another corner of the building was being used as a cooking area, which is just a basic open space with large vessels. There is no semblance to the cleanliness and hygiene standards mandatory to a kitchen-like facility. Parts of the cooking area were surrounded by compound walls while another side was covered by a tin sheet. A closed toilet, situated just a few steps further, appeared to be dangerously untidy even from the outside. The rear portions of the building seemed to lack a concrete boundary wall. There were only tin sheets erected to purportedly serve the same purpose.
A statement issued by the Foxconn technology group said, “The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority. We have been investigating recent issues at our Sriperumbudur facility in Tamil Nadu and have found that some offsite dormitory facilities do not meet the required standards”. Besides apologising for the plight of their employees, the company also said it is taking immediate steps to enhance the facilities and services at remote dormitory accommodations. In addition to restructuring the local management team, Foxconn said that it would also continue to pay its employees even as it makes necessary improvements before restarting operations.
According to an Apple Spokesperson, the tech giant dispatched independent auditors to undertake additional detailed assessments following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn Sriperumbudur. It was also said that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms that were used for employees did not meet their basic requirements. “The facility has been placed on probation and we will ensure our strict standards are met before the facility reopens. We will continue to monitor conditions closely”, the statement added.
Earlier this month, nearly 150 women workers of Foxconn staying at an offsite dormitory had fallen ill and were admitted to hospitals, owing to food poisoning. They alleged that the food provided to them at the dining facility in the dormitory was unhygienic. The women workers, turned up in large numbers, blocked the arterial Chennai-Bengaluru highway and protested against their Foxconn management to demand better facilities.
According to the Deputy General Secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions, Tamil Nadu – Kannan, the details of the recent instance of food poisoning that affected over 150 staff, were not shared with parents to the colleagues. The information withheld by the authorities led to the spread of rumours and encouraged protests.
“Not only iPhone, but all brands of phones are also being manufactured at the Foxconn Sunguvarchatram plant. Nearly 10,000 employees are engaged in production activity here, but they are not working as permanent staff. Instead, they are all contract employees, despite doing a job that is of perennial nature. This is a major concern for workers to come out and protest”, he told WION. On behalf of CITU, he emphasised that the Tamil Nadu government, Apple and Foxconn management have to come forward to completely resolve the issue.
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 "They help make iPhones, but here's where they stayed: Inside Foxconn Chennai offsite dorm room")
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