Thu Jan 23 11:43:29 UTC 2025: **NHRC Reprimands Indian Labor Officials Over Foxconn’s Discrimination Against Married Women**
NEW DELHI, January 23, 2025 – The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has criticized Indian labor officials for their inadequate investigation into allegations of employment discrimination against married women at Foxconn’s iPhone assembly plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The reprimand follows a Reuters investigation which revealed that Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, excluded married women from assembly line jobs, only relaxing the ban during peak production periods.
The NHRC, in June 2024, ordered a probe into Foxconn’s hiring practices after the Reuters report, which was based on interviews with former and current employees, recruitment agents, and job application materials. Many advertisements explicitly stated a preference for unmarried women within specific age ranges, contradicting both Apple and Foxconn’s stated anti-discrimination policies. While Foxconn subsequently ordered recruiters to remove discriminatory criteria from job postings, the NHRC found the government’s investigation insufficient.
According to NHRC documents obtained by Reuters via Right to Information laws, labor officials claimed a 6.7% rate of married women among the 33,360 female employees at the plant. However, the NHRC deemed this insufficient, stating that the officials failed to adequately scrutinize Foxconn’s hiring documents and address the core issue of recruitment discrimination. The NHRC noted that the officials’ reliance on current employee testimonies and a superficial investigation failed to answer the question of whether discrimination occurred during the hiring process.
In November 2024, the NHRC ordered a re-examination of the matter, demanding a thorough investigation within four weeks. Neither the Tamil Nadu nor Union Labour Departments responded to Reuters’ requests for comment on the NHRC’s assessment. Apple and Foxconn have also not yet responded to questions about the NHRC’s findings. The case is ongoing. The Foxconn plant represents a significant foreign investment in India and is key to Apple and Foxconn’s manufacturing expansion plans as well as Prime Minister Modi’s goals for domestic electronics production.
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