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Apple Chinese iPod Plant Violates Rules

Apple Computer admitted that the Chinese Longhau plant, where iPods are manufactured, has gone far beyond the American company`s limits on hours and days worked per week. Apple promised to take immediate steps with the supplier in order to fix all the issues. Apple said in a report: "We found no instances of forced overtime. We did, however, find that employees worked longer hours than permitted by our Code of Conduct, which limits normal workweeks to 60 hours and requires at least one day off each week."

It was found in the factory records, that in the past seven months, the hours-per-week limit was exceeded 35 percent of the time, and that employees worked more than the maximum days-per-week 25 percent of the time. It was also reported that the plant, which employs a total of 200,000 workers, paid its workers half of the going rate, forced employees to work 15-hour shifts, and charged them about half their wages for the company-provided room and board.

However, as Apple said, most of those accusations were dismissed. All workers are paid more than the local minimum wage, and more than half make above the minimum wage, which in that part of China is approximately 800 yuan ($100) per month.