NHRC says labour officials failed to adequately investigate complaints of employment discrimination at Foxconn

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has criticized labor officials for not thoroughly investigating allegations of employment discrimination at Foxconn’s iPhone assembly plant in India. revealed the exclusion of married women from assembly line work, the ban was reportedly relaxed during peak production periods.The NHRC directive comes it at a time when Foxconn and Apple aim to expand manufacturing in India, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to boost electronics manufacturing in the country.

According to Reuters, labor officials visited the Foxconn factory in July but did not release their findings.Documents it reviewed showed that Tamil Nadu labor officials told the NHRC that 6.7 percent of the 33,360 women working at the factory were married. was, without specifying whether they worked on the assembly line. Officials argued that the recruitment of female employees from the six districts “makes it clear that the company employed a large number of women employees… without any discrimination.” However, the NHRC noted that the officials did not address the core issue of discrimination against married women.

The NHRC stated that labor officials “submitted their reports in a casual/casual manner” and failed to scrutinize Foxconn’s hiring documents whether the company actually discriminated against married women at the time of recruitment,” stressing that officials “appear to have remained silent; in this regard.”

The commission ordered a “thorough inquiry” within four weeks, reflecting its civil court-like powers to recommend remedial action, including compensation. Neither state nor federal labor departments responded to requests for comment on the NHRC’s assessment the intervention coincides with the government’s assertion that India’s Equal Pay Act prohibits discrimination in recruitment based on sex.

(according to Reuters)