Samsung Electronics has been hit by new allegations of child labour in China, barely a month after activists found evidence of child workers at another Chinese contractor used by the South Korean company.
China Labor Watch, a New York rights group, said HEG Electronics, a Guangdong factory that supplies Samsung and Lenovo, had employed more than 10 children younger than 16. In 2012 it accused Samsung of legal violations, such as excessive overtime, at the same Chinese contractor.
“Samsung promised to correct child labour and other violations throughout its supply chain [after the 2012 case]. But based on the follow-up probe by CLW in July and August, not only have conditions at HEG failed to improve, they have worsened,” the rights group said yesterday.