NHRC orders fresh probe into employment discrimination at Foxconn India
What's the story
India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has slammed labor officials for failing to properly investigate alleged employment discrimination at Foxconn, a key manufacturer of Apple iPhones.
The NHRC has directed the officials to re-examine the matter, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.
The probe was initiated following a Reuters investigation which indicated that Foxconn was keeping married women out of iPhone assembly jobs at its southern India plant.
Probe details
Initial probe into Foxconn's hiring practices deemed insufficient
The NHRC had ordered both federal and Tamil Nadu state officials to probe Foxconn's hiring practices in June.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment also requested a detailed report from the Tamil Nadu labor department regarding media reports.
Foxconn refuted allegations of discriminatory hiring practices against married women, stating that 25% of its new hires are married women.
Indian labor officials visited the Foxconn facility in July and questioned executives about their employment practices, but didn't disclose their findings.
Criticism
NHRC criticizes labor officials' handling of Foxconn investigation
The NHRC had criticized labor officials in November for their apparent failure to thoroughly examine Foxconn's hiring documents or address the central issue of discrimination against married women.
The commission said the officials had based their reports on testimonies from current employees and had filed their reports in a "routine/casual manner."
The NHRC emphasized the number of female employees currently employed doesn't answer whether the company discriminated against married women during recruitment.
Re-investigation ordered
Thorough re-investigation of Foxconn's hiring practices
On November 19, the NHRC expressed its dissatisfaction with the government officials' handling of the case and ordered them to conduct "a thorough investigation" within four weeks.
The commission said it could not provide further information as the case was ongoing, in its January 10 response to Reuters.
Reuters' investigation into Foxconn's hiring practices revealed that many job ads between January 2023 and May 2024 specified only unmarried women of certain ages were eligible for smartphone assembly roles.