samsung-child-laborA new investigative report describes a factory that manufactures Samsung products as a place of squalor, full of abused and underage employees. According to China Labor Watch, student laborers, many drafted from high school, “amount to 80% of the total workforce in the factory.”

And we thought Apple’s factory conditions were bad.

An exhaustive 31 page report documents a behind the scenes look at HEG Electronics, which is responsible for producing some of Samsung’s best gadgets. It’s a dire sounding place — if the report is to be believed — and quite frankly makes Apple’s Foxconn factories sound tame.

Here are highlights of the report, via LaptopMag:

  • Physical Abuse
  • Failing to Treat or Compensate for Work-Related Injuries
  • Excessive Overtime
  • Fines for Reporting Problems
  • Dangerous Conditions

CLW’s report on the alleged physical abuse is shocking, to say the least. Making a mistake could result in both verbal and physical abuse, along with cruel and unusual punishment.

Any carelessness, such as slow movements, misoperation, or late completion of team leaders’ orders could provoke the shouting of team leaders at anytime. Everyday, employees in the workshops were punished by standing all day long, writing self-criticism, or getting fined.

According to one young worker interviewed by CLW, HEG Electronics refused to take her to the hospital after falling down a flight of stairs, and “also rejected her request for sick leave.”

Amidst the report, Samsung confirmed it will “conduct a field survey” and look into the allegations, but that’s the best it can offer right now. Either way, the news puts an increasingly dark cloud over the company, which is currently locked in a court battle with Apple.

[via LaptopMag]