New Delhi:

The labour officials visited a Foxconn factory this week and questioned executives about the company’s hiring practices, an official said, after Reuters reported that the major Apple supplier has been rejecting married women from iPhone assembly jobs.

A five-member team of the federal government’s regional labour department visited the Foxconn factory near Chennai, on July 1 and spoke to company directors and human resources officials, A. Narasaiah, the regional labour commissioner, told Reuters by telephone on Wednesday.

Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Apple did not address questions from Reuters about the visit.

The inquiries come after the government asked state officials and the office of the federal government’s Regional Chief Labour Commissioner last week to provide detailed reports on the matter, following Reuters’ investigation into hiring practices at the manufacturing facility.

“We are collecting information, and have asked the company to submit documents like company policies, recruitment policies” as well as evidence of compliance with labour laws and information on maternity and retirement benefits, Mr Narasaiah said. “They told us they are not discriminating.”

Mr Narasaiah said Foxconn told the labour officials the factory employs 41,281 people, including 33,360 women. Of these women, some 2,750, or about 8%, were married, he said, citing Foxconn’s submission.

Foxconn did not break down the staffing figures into specific areas such as iPhone assembly, where Reuters reported the discrimination was taking place, Mr Narasaiah said. He added that the labour inspectors interviewed 40 married women inside the plant, who raised no concerns about discrimination.

Mr Narasaiah said he currently has no plan to question Foxconn’s third-party hiring agents, who scout for candidates and bring them to the plant for interviews.

A Reuters investigation published last week found Foxconn systematically excluded married women from assembly jobs at its main Indian iPhone plant on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. Foxconn HR sources and third-party hiring agents cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons for not hiring married women.

The reporting also found that Taiwan-based Foxconn relaxes the practice of not hiring married women during high-production periods.

The story has sparked debates on TV channels, newspaper editorials, and calls from opposition figures and women’s groups, including within PM Modi’s party, to investigate the matter.

Responding to the Reuters investigation, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues. All the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Tamil Nadu plant, however, took place in 2023 and 2024. The companies did not address those instances.

Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, has previously said it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”

Apple has said all its suppliers, including Foxconn, hire married women and all its suppliers, including Foxconn, hire married women and “when concerns about hiring practices were first raised in 2022 we immediately took action and worked with our supplier to conduct monthly audits to identify issues and ensure that our high standards are upheld.”

The law does not bar companies from discriminating in hiring based on marital status, though Apple’s and Foxconn’s policies prohibit such practices in their supply chains.

New Delhi:

Apple iPhone maker Foxconn has informed the government that 25 percent of its new hires are married women and its safety protocol, which requires all employees to avoid wearing metal irrespective of gender or religion, is not discriminatory, sources said.

In an informal note shared with the government after reports suggested it is not hiring married women, Foxconn stated that such stipulations are not part of its policy and these claims may have been made by those individuals who were not hired, sources said.

They added that such media reports malign the fast-growing Indian manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Employment on Wednesday sought a detailed report from the Tamil Nadu labour department on the issue of married women not being allowed to work at the Foxconn India Apple iPhone Plant, as reported by the media.

“Foxconn had clarified that 25 per cent of the latest hires are married women. This would mean nearly one-third of the total women are married. This ratio compares favourably to any factory in this sector currently operating in India,” one of the sources said.

The Foxconn factory currently has about 70 per cent women and 30 per cent men and the Tamil Nadu plant is the largest factory for women employment in the country with the total employment having touched 45,000 workers during peak periods, they said.

The company has also informed that the discussion around Hindu married women being discriminated against for wearing metals (ornaments and jewellery) is “entirely slanted” and wearing metal in such factories is a safety issue, a fact well recognised by both the industry and the government.

“Any person wearing metals – man or woman – regardless of their status (single or married) and their religion (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh etc.) are required to remove metals while working in the factory,” the source said quoting the company’s informal note.

For safety reasons, no one wearing metal is allowed to work on the shop floor and this is a prevalent practice in several industries.

According to sources, the company has stated that the media report is based on anecdotal comments by 5-10 people or potential job seekers.

These comments likely came from candidates who did not get the job or no longer work at Foxconn.

When contacted on the issue, Foxconn said that they hire workers of all backgrounds, genders, races and marital status, and they do not discriminate in hiring or recruitment.

“We enhanced our management process for hiring agencies in India in 2022 and identified four agencies that were posting ads that did not meet our standards. We took corrective action with those agencies and more than 20 job ads were removed,” Foxconn said in a statement.

It also refuted allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.

“In our latest round of hiring almost 25 per cent of women are married. Married women are welcome to wear traditional metal ornaments while working in our facilities,” it said.

It added that the company provides qualified job seekers equal treatment and it works with relevant local agencies to ensure that all recruitment efforts follow Foxconn’s recruitment standards and guidelines, as well as local labour regulations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)