Samsung suspends China supplier over child labour allegations

World's biggest smartphone maker suspends business ties with Dongguan Shinyang Electronics after China Labor Watch report

theguardian.com,  Associated Press, Monday 14 July 2014

Samsung showroom in Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/

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Samsung has said it has suspended business ties with a Chinese supplier that allegedly hired children.

The South Korean company, which is the world's biggest smartphone maker, said in its blog on Monday that it had found possible evidence of child labour and illegal hiring at Dongguan Shinyang Electronics.

Samsung said last week it would urgently look into the Chinese supplier following a New-York-based watchdog's report that it had hired at least five children under the age of 16.

China Labor Watch said children as well as minors under 18 worked at Shinyang for three to six months to meet production targets during a period of high demand. The watchdog said the child workers were paid for 10 hours a day but worked 11 hours.

The report detailed 15 labour violations discovered during its undercover investigation. They included child labour, the absence of safety training, no overtime wages and no social insurance for temporary workers, who constituted at least 40% of 1,200 employees at the Chinese cellphone parts supplier for Samsung.

China Labor Watch's report came shortly after Samsung said its audit had found no child labour at hundreds of Chinese suppliers. Samsung began inspecting its Chinese suppliers after the watchdog raised the issue in 2012.

Samsung said it would permanently stop doing business with Shinyang if a Chinese investigation found evidence of child labour.