Samsung finds no child labor in China following inspection

SEOUL - South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics said Monday that it found no child labor on all 105 suppliers in China following the on-site inspections in September.

The Samsung audit team, comprising 121 trained and certified employees, did not identify any instance of child labor in all 105 suppliers that manufacture Samsung products in China, after conducting on-site inspections over a four-week period in September, according to an e-mailed statement.

The field audit came in response to the China Labor Watch's reports on Samsung suppliers. The New York-based labor rights group alleged in early August that HEG Electronics, a Huizhou, Guangdong province-based Samsung supplier, had employed children under the age of 16, violating a labor law.

Before the Samsung audit that reviewed HR records of all workers aged below 18 and conducting face-to-face ID checks, authorities in South China's Guangdong province confirmed that they found no labor law violations in the Chinese Samsung supplier.

Samsung, however, noted that the on-site audit identified several instances of inadequate practices at its suppliers, including overtime hours in excess of local regulations, supplier companies holding copies of labor contracts and the imposition of a system of fines for lateness or absence.

Samsung said it has demanded all suppliers to correct irregularities in labor contracts and distribute one copy to all employees, to abolish a fines system, to provide adequate safety equipment and to offer first-aid kits to the manufacturing facilities and dormitories.

Meanwhile, Samsung planned to complete its review on 144 more suppliers in China, which make products for Samsung and other firms, by the end of this year. From 2013, Samsung will continue to monitor working conditions at 249 Samsung suppliers in China through a third party audit program.