Samsung factories are still a horrible place to work

Samsung-worker

Samsung wants to be one of the world’s top 10 places to work by 2020, but according to the latest third-party labor conditions report, working for the South Korean smartphone maker is still a horrible experience, especially if you’re one of its Chinese suppliers.

An audit of 100 of Samsung’s suppliers in China found issues like overtime, proper saftey gear and training are still prominent issues. You can read the full 69-page report on Samsung’s site, but here’s a quick rundown of the egregious conditions:


Of the 100 sites surveyed 59 were found to provide insufficient safety equipment, such as earplugs and safety goggles. 33 sites failed to properly manage sewage and waster disposal. Three were found to exceed limits for dust and noise levels.

It’s also mentioned that most of the factories don’t comply with China’s legally permitted overtime hours, while half have workers under 18 handling hazardous chemicals, and a third don’t provide social insurance.

For its part, Samsung isn’t alone facing scrutiny for labor conditions as Apple and its partner Foxconn came under fire the last two years for their practices, which brought about some big changes. Now Samsung following the lead and pushing its business partners to do better as well.

Samsung says it’s already pressuring suppliers to address the violations found in the report, and to its credit, the company rectified 1,943 work-hazard issues that were pointed out by the Korean Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Environment. They’ve also added 2,000 trained inspectors, including specialists for dangerous chemicals and leak-response teams, to oversee work operations.

Source: Samsung

Via: The Verge