The Indian authorities has sought an in depth report from Tamil Nadu state following media stories that Apple provider Foxconn was allegedly rejecting married girls for iPhone meeting jobs.
A Reuters investigation alleged that Foxconn had excluded married girls from jobs at its important India iPhone plant close to Chennai, citing their larger household duties in comparison with single girls.
The federal labour ministry says the legislation “clearly stipulates that no discrimination [is] to be made whereas recruiting women and men staff”.
Foxconn mentioned in a press release it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination primarily based on marital standing”.
Neither Apple nor the Tamil Nadu state authorities responded to requests for remark from Reuters.
The BBC has additionally reached out to the Tamil Nadu labour division for a response.
Foxconn, the most important provider of Apple iPhones, arrange its first manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu in 2017 however has since been aggressively increasing its operations in India.
In 2023, it started assembling the iPhone 15 within the state and earlier this yr, Foxconn tied up with Google to make Pixel smartphones in Tamil Nadu.
The corporate mentioned it doesn’t stand for discrimination in hiring or recruitment.
In a latest spherical of recruitment, 25% of girls employed have been married, in keeping with the corporate.
It did acknowledge that 20 job adverts posted by hiring businesses have been eliminated in 2022 as a result of they “didn’t meet our requirements”.
The discriminatory practices detailed within the Reuters investigation allegedly came about in 2023 and 2024.
“Once we see a problem we act, together with corrective motion as much as and together with termination of the hiring company,” Foxconn added.
Rights activists say the stories in regards to the agency’s hiring practices in India are regarding, provided that 1000’s look to its factories for employment alternatives.
Reuters mentioned it spoke to quite a few workers and Foxconn hiring businesses for the story.
The report mentioned that hiring brokers and Foxconn HR sources “cited household duties, being pregnant and better absenteeism as the explanation why Foxconn didn’t rent married girls on the plant”.
This isn’t the primary time the agency has come below scrutiny for its labour practices.
In 2018, a US-based rights group had accused the agency of overworking and underpaying momentary staff at its manufacturing unit in China that manufactured merchandise for Amazon.
In 2022, its iPhone manufacturing unit in China noticed protests by staff who claimed that they’d not been paid sure dues.
