The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on Wednesday took note of various media reports, which claimed that married women are not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant.
In light of these reports, the Ministry has requested a detailed report from the Labour Department of the Tamil Nadu Government.
According to a report by Reuters, Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant, on the grounds that they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
S Paul, a former human-resources executive at Foxconn India, told Reuters that the company’s executives verbally convey the recruitment rules to its Indian hiring agencies, which Foxconn tasks with scouting for candidates, bringing them in for interviews and employing them.
It it to be noted that the Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues.
However, all the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai took place in 2023 and 2024, and the companies didn’t address those instances.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment said, “Section 5 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 clearly stipulates that no discrimination to be made while recruiting men and women workers. As the State Government is the appropriate authority for the enforcement and administration of the provisions of this Act, hence the report has been sought from the State Government.”
At the same time, the office of Regional Chief Labour Commissioner has also been directed to furnish the factual report to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.