Samsung halts business with supplier over child labour

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it halted business with a supplier in China over suspected use of child workers, the first instance of the kind, after criticism that its monitoring of labour practices at suppliers was inadequate.

The decision, announced today, comes less than a week after US-based China Labor Watch (CLW) said it found "at least five child workers" without contracts at the supplier and called Samsung's monitoring process to halt such practices "ineffective."

According to Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone maker, it conducted three audits since 2013 of the supplier, a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea's Shinyang Engineering Co Ltd, the latest of which ended on 25 June.

However, another investigation prompted by the watchdog's report led to evidence of what, according to Samsung, amounted to child labour, pointing to slippages in the tech giant's ability to enforce its labour guidelines for Chinese suppliers.

"The Chinese authorities are also looking into the case," Samsung said in its statement today.

In its statement, the company said it would permanently cut all ties with the supplier if the allegations were true, in line with its zero-tolerance policy on child workers.

Labour practices at Samsung suppliers had first come under scrutiny in 2012, when according to CLW, seven children below 16 years of age were found working at the electronics giant's China-based suppliers, which was illegal under Chinese labour laws.

According to Samsung, an investigation by authorities was under way and the supplier would be permanently cut from Samsung's business if it was found to have hired underage workers, Samsung said in a statement today.

The report comes after the release of Samsung's sustainability report, according to which 59 suppliers failed to provide adequate safety equipment for staff, however there were no instances of child labour.

''Following the CLW allegations, however, Samsung found evidences of illegal hiring process that took place on June 29,'' it said in the e-mailed statement to Bloomberg.

''Samsung will strengthen its hiring process not only at its production facilities but also at its suppliers to prevent such cases from reoccurring.''