The studyfocuses on interviews with 45 workers at two factories in Vietnam, the majority of whom are women. Their testimony highlights the impacts of the working conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals ontheir neurological and reproductive health.
Workers report suffering from fatigue, fainting and dizziness,as well as bone/joint/leg pain from standing of 70 – 80 hours a week. Reports also highlight that workers are denied basic freedom in the Samsung facilities, such as being separated from family members. In addition, workers comment about the increased incidence of miscarriages among female workers, caused by overwork and exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace.
PEN suggest that workers are ill-informed about how working conditions link to health, while worker freedoms, safety and training are sacrificed to improve factory productivity and reduce costs – something Samsung is not will to admit or change. Even investigations by the Vietnamese government in Samsung’s factories have not yielded meaningful change, something that IPEN suggests is down to the politics in Vietnam and Samsung’s investment power.
As well as denying the claims made by IPEN and the CGFED, Samsung has also threatened legal action. The company has also continued to silence its workers by threatening them with dismissal and lawsuits if they speak out.
Reports also highlight that workers are denied basic freedom in the Samsung facilities, such as being separated from family members. In addition, workers comment about the increased incidence of miscarriages among female workers, caused by overwork and exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace.
Investigations of Samsung factories worldwide by International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) also found widespread abusive labor conditions. What is the problem with smartphone manufacturing? We answer your most frequent questions on smartphone sweatshops.
There have been numerous Human Rights infringement criticisms launched against Samsung over the years. For these, Samsung receives a low score. One example of poor treatment of workers is a crane crash that occurred at a Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile and smartphone maker, is being accused of exploiting younger workers and using factories in China where some employees were physically and verbally abused, and forced to work more than 100 hours per month of overtime.
Conclusion. Both Apple and Samsung are making efforts to improve their impact on the environment. However, at the moment, Apple's practices are more eco-friendly overall, especially when we for example, take into account its lower carbon footprint.
In 2019 Samsung also faced charges over making 'misleading' ethical claims. Two French NGOs accused a Samsung subsidiary of employing children aged under 16 in China, Vietnam and Korea, and enforcing abusive working hours. Samsung disputed these claims.
1. Fairphone 5. Fairphone is the undisputed king of ethical phone manufacturing. This Dutch phone maker is the only brand at the moment that puts producing long-lasting, repairable, fairtrade-sourced and modular devices at the forefront of their operations.
Honest Mobile is a great ethical choice and appears at the top of our ratings table. Honest Mobile has even achieved Ethical Accreditation from The Good Shopping Guide, which is a mark of a brand's consideration for the Environment, People and Animals.
It sued Samsung in 2022, alleging that the Korean tech giant included its technology in 5G-capable Galaxy smartphones without a license. Samsung denied the allegations, argued that the patents were invalid and said that G+ failed to offer licenses on fair and reasonable terms as standards organizations require.
Samsung has made some good strides this year in the three key areas of a circular economy – production, use and end of life. For example: Samsung reported a three-fold increase in the use of recycled resin in its devices' plastic parts in 2022 when compared to 2021.
The "Crown Prince of Samsung" - as he was dubbed by protesters - paid $8 million (£6.6m) in bribes to President Park and her associate to secure support for a merger opposed by shareholders that would shore up his control of his family's empire.
Two non-governmental organisations accuse the smartphone maker's French subsidiary of employing children aged under 16 at plants in China, Vietnam and South Korea, as well as enforcing abusive working hours, providing accommodation that is “incompatible with human dignity”, and endangering workers' lives.
We continuously make improvements to our work systems by adopting flexible and efficient programs tailored to individual job functions. We allow our employees to customize their working hours and annual leave and have more control over their schedule to provide a truly “work-smart” environment.
Fairphone. The Dutch company, Fairphone, is a special case, since the brand is openly committed to these issues. Laying the foundations for an ethical, easily repairable phone, using materials from fair trade channels – as far as possible, and the company is quite transparent about this – is the company's raison d'être ...
Google Pixel, a mobile phone brand owned by Alphabet Inc. is given a low Ethical Rating by The Good Shopping Guide. Unfortunately, this brand receives a low Good Shopping Guide Ethical Score in our Ethical Mobile Phones Ratings Table and has therefore not yet met our minimum Ethical Benchmark.
We respect all people's basic human rights. We do not, under any circ*mstances, permit forced labor, wage theft, or child labor. We do not discriminate against our stakeholders, including customers and employees, based on nationality, race, gender, or religion.
SUWON, SOUTH KOREA — Samsung Electronics is set to significantly increase its outsourcing of smartphone design and production to Chinese original device manufacturers (ODMs) and joint device manufacturers (JDMs) in 2024.
The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) said last week that its 28,000 members — just under a quarter of the company's total workforce in the country — would stage a one-day strike on June 7, following failed negotiations over pay and bonus arrangements.
The foremost principles of integrity management are ethical behavior and compliance with the law. Accordingly, we place a lot of emphasis on fair trade with our partners.
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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