Chashan (China): Production has been indefinitely halted at a Chinese supplier to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd after the factory was suspected of using child workers. Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, said last week it had stopped doing business with the Dongguan Shinyang Electronics factory, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea’s Shinyang Engineering Co Ltd, after an audit led to evidence of what Samsung called suspected child labour.
The Dongguan Shinyang factory is a squat building in an industrial estate in Chashan, one of hundreds of towns spread across southern China’s Pearl River Delta, dubbed the factory of the world. In Seoul, a senior official at parent firm Shinyang Engineering said its China factory had been idle since July 14.
The official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said Shinyang Engineering had asked the Chinese authorities to investigate the company that had supplied the factory with labour.
“We hope the problems will be resolved in a speedy manner so that we can resume production soon,” he added. The senior management at Dongguan Shinyang declined to meet or speak to the reporters who recently visited the plant.
Several workers at the plant said they were required to show up for work, but were asked to clean machinery and carry out other menial tasks as production had stopped. “This factory has especially poor management,” said Lai Zhenxiong, a worker in a bright pink uniform. “I hope we don’t end up losing our jobs,” he explained.
