Labour Ministry Seeks Report From TN Govt On Foxconn’s Alleged Discriminatory Hiring Practices

A day after a report alleged that Apple vendor Foxconn has discriminatory hiring practices at its iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu plant, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has sought a detailed report from the state government on the matter. 

The ministry noted that the allegations, if true, would be a clear violation of the Section 5 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The provision stipulates no discrimination in recruitment on the basis of gender. 

Besides seeking clarity from the state government, it has also directed the office of Regional Chief Labour Commissioner to furnish a factual report on the incident. 

Earlier, Reuters reported that the Taiwanese electronics major excludes married women from jobs at its plant on the grounds that they have more family responsibilities compared to unmarried counterparts. 

However, Foxconn refuted the allegations of any employee discrimination based on marital status, gender, or other grounds. 

“Foxconn’s priority is the well-being of our employees around the world. We hire workers of all backgrounds, genders, races and marital statuses, and we do not stand for discrimination in hiring or recruitment,” Foxconn said in response to Inc42’s queries. 

The allegations come as the Apple vendor is looking to double down on its India operations.

Besides its plant in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, Foxconn is also building a plant in Karnataka, which is currently under construction. For the uninitiated, the company is responsible for assembling approximately 70% of iPhones and is the world’s largest contract manufacturer.

Apple has been looking to move away from China amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington DC. As a result, India has emerged as an attractive manufacturing destination on account of its attractive subsidies and production-linked incentives (PLIs). 

In September 2023, Foxconn’s India representative V Lee said that the company was planning to double its investments and business size in India in one year. Additionally, the Apple supplier, earlier this year, also signed a joint venture (JV) with homegrown HCL Group to set up a semiconductor assembly and testing facility in India to bolster its presence in the country.

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