Both Samsung and Lenovo have been accused of negligence regarding the use of child labour at the factory of a Chinese supplier for the manufacturers.
China Labor Watch (CLW) is once again behind the accusations and this time the watchdog claims it has found more than 10 children at the factory and over 100 student workers who were not being paid overtime whilst being forced to work at night.
China Labor Watch says it presented Samsung with the evidence and that the Korean manufacturer denied the allegations. The supplier, HEG Technology, also claims the accusations are false. Meanwhile, a Lenovo spokeswoman has told the NY Times that the company will look into the report.
According to CLW, Samsung has already taken some action against the supplier demanding it to pay the students’ wages.
In response, Samsung added that it had propose to China Labor Watch that they conduct a joint investigation “for more precise verification” of the findings.
Samsung also claims that it had informed the watchdog about its own investigation into the matter, which was duly ignored by CLW.
HEG Technology also issued a strong statement of denial in which it states that it has never hired children and that it has facial recognition systems to ensure workers at its plant are not under age.
This is the second time in recent months that Samsung has come under fire from CLW. The previous allegation regarded a supplier named Shinyang Electronics of Dongguan, China.
Samsung temporarily severed ties with the supplier, which was accused of hiring children and forcing them to work lengthy hours under poor conditions, until the issue was rectified.