Apple manufacturer criticised in undercover report

An undercover investigation has exposed the working and disciplinary conditions in place at Apple's Chinese technology manufacturer Foxconn, including allegations that staff worked 12-hour days for almost an entire fortnight in the six months before the launch of the iPad.

On Tuesday, Labour organisation Students and scholars against corporate misbehaviour (SACOM) released the report Workers as Machines: Military Management in Foxconn [PDF], which contains the findings of a four-month investigation to explore the working conditions at the Foxconn factories, where 17 workers have committed suicide this year.

The allegations of worker abuse, illegal labour practices and unsafe working conditions were "strongly and categorically" rejected by Foxconn Technology Group, which manufactures products for a wide range of vendors including Apple, HP and Nokia.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Undercover report hits Apple manufacturer on ZDNet Australia.