Published in News

Apple, Samsung and Sony in child-labour claim

by on19 January 2016


Seven year olds mining for Cobalt


Apple, Samsung and Sony have been named and shamed in an Amnesty International report for not doing enough to prevent child labour crimes in the production of products.

The report focuses on the mining of cobalt, an essential element in the production of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and said that it found children as young as seven working in dangerous conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

More than 80 miners had died in the 15 months to the end of 2015, and UNICEF estimated that there are 40,000 children working in mines across the southern DRC.

The kids were working 24-hour shifts in the mines and others were rooting through the discarded waste from mining activity to check that no cobalt has been discarded.

Apple claims to have some of the most stringent anti-child labour policies in the world and says that where child labour is found, the supplier is made to return the child home on full pay, fund their education and offer them a job at legal working age.

It sounds good but there is no direct link between parts of the supply chain. The cobalt is sold by the mines to Congo Dongfang Mining, which is owned by a Chinese firm, and it is this firm that supplies the cobalt.

Intel, aware of the problem, spent years going through its supply chain to remove these sorts of issues and a few years back claimed it was free from them. But it seems that the big three did not make enough of an effort, despite their claims.

Last modified on 19 January 2016
Rate this item
(4 votes)

Read more about: