By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian labor officials visited a Foxconn factory in the country’s south this week and questioned executives about the company’s hiring practices, an official said, after Reuters reported that the major supplier to Apple (NASDAQ:) married has turned women away from iPhone assembly work.
A five-member team from the federal government’s regional labor department visited the Foxconn factory near Chennai, Tamil Nadu state, on July 1 and spoke to company executives and human resources officials. A. Narasaiah, the regional labor commissioner, told Reuters by telephone on Wednesday.
Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Apple did not respond to Reuters questions about the visit.
The investigation comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last week asked government officials and the office of the federal government’s Regional Chief Labor Commissioner to provide detailed reports on the issue, following Reuters’ investigation into hiring practices at the manufacturing facility.
“We are collecting information and have asked the company to submit documents such as company policies and recruitment policies,” as well as evidence of compliance with labor laws and information on maternity and pension benefits, Narasaiah said. “They told us they don’t discriminate.”
Narasaiah said Foxconn told labor officials the factory employs 41,281 people, including 33,360 women. Of these women, about 2,750, or about 8%, were married, he said, citing Foxconn’s submission.
Foxconn did not break down its workforce figures by specific areas, such as iPhone assembly, where Reuters reported the discrimination occurred, Narasaiah said. He added that labor inspectors at the factory interviewed 40 married women, who expressed no concerns about discrimination.
Narasaiah said he currently has no plans to question Foxconn’s third-party recruitment agents, who scout for candidates and bring them to the factory for interviews.
A Reuters investigation published last week found that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from assembly jobs at its main Indian iPhone factory because they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. Foxconn HR sources and third-party hiring agents cited family responsibilities, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons for not hiring married women.
The reporting also showed that Taiwan-based Foxconn is relaxing its practice of not hiring married women during periods of high production.
The story has sparked debates on TV channels, newspaper articles and calls from opposition figures and women’s groups, including within Modi’s party, to investigate the matter.
In response to Reuters’ investigation, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged mistakes in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues. However, all of the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Tamil Nadu plant occurred in 2023 and 2024. The companies have not addressed these cases.
Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, has previously said it “strongly refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”
Apple has said that all of its suppliers, including Foxconn, hire married women and “when concerns about hiring practices first emerged in 2022, we took immediate action and worked with Our supplier has worked together to conduct monthly audits to identify issues and ensure our high standards are adhered to.”
Indian law does not prohibit companies from discriminating on the basis of marital status in hiring, although Apple and Foxconn’s policies prohibit such practices in their supply chains.
