NEW YORK – Despite recent policy changes regarding Samsung’s use of child labor, it appears that the tech giant is still reliant on underage factory workers.
On the surface, Samsung has appeared to comply with China’s child labor laws, instituting new practices to monitor their factories and those of their suppliers as part of a pledge to end child labor. Recent sweeps of the factories show, however, that underage workers slip through the system with regularity. Now a spokesperson for the company is defending the use of child labor, saying that not hiring child workers was “never really an option.”
“These kids today, they just understand technology better than their parents. They grew up making this stuff, so they aren’t intimidated by it in the slightest. Furthermore, impoverished people from older generations have been working in factories with far worse conditions for far longer; we need some fresh legs if we are to remain competitive, and these kids are faster, more efficient workers,” says Lee Kun-hee, the current Samsung chairman.
“Our foremen love child workers,” adds Lee. “Their small, nimble fingers can easily clear out any jams in our machinery, and they work for a pittance compared to adult factory workers.”
Samsung made moves to revise their child labor policies after Apple, their prime competitor, came under fire for abhorrent working conditions in the factories of their Taiwanese supplier, Foxconn. To combat the recurring problem or workers committing suicide while on the job, Foxconn started playing “soothing” classical music in their factories, in addition to installing nets to capture suicide jumpers.
“Yeah we use child labor, so what?” remarked Lee. Our suicide rate is dramatically lower than Foxconn’s, so keep that in mind when you try to decide between the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy.”
