Bengaluru:

The central authorities on Wednesday stated it has requested the Tamil Nadu authorities to submit a “detailed report” after a Reuters story revealed that Apple provider Foxconn rejected married girls from iPhone meeting jobs within the nation.

In a press release calling for the probe, the Ministry of Labour and Employment cited the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, saying the legislation “clearly stipulates that no discrimination (is) to be made whereas recruiting women and men staff.”

The ministry stated it has requested an in depth report from the Labour Division of Tamil Nadu, web site of a serious iPhone manufacturing facility the place Reuters uncovered Foxconn’s apply of shunning married girls from jobs.

The Labour Ministry stated it additionally directed the workplace of the Regional Chief Labour Commissioner to offer a “factual report.”

Apple and Foxconn didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the federal government assertion. The Tamil Nadu state authorities didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ request for remark outdoors workplace hours.

A Reuters investigation revealed on Tuesday discovered that Foxconn has systematically excluded married girls from jobs at its most important India iPhone plant close to Chennai in Tamil Nadu, on the grounds they’ve extra household duties than their single counterparts.

Foxconn hiring brokers and HR sources interviewed by Reuters cited household duties, being pregnant and better absenteeism as the explanation why Foxconn didn’t rent married girls on the plant.

The Ministry of Labour “takes notice of media stories on married girls not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant,” the assertion stated.

Earlier, in response to questions from Reuters for its Tuesday report, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and stated they’d labored to deal with the problems. All of the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters on the Sriperumbudur plant, nonetheless, befell in 2023 and 2024. The 2 firms did not handle the 2023 and 2024 incidents.

Apple stated that “when considerations about hiring practices have been first raised in 2022 we instantly took motion and labored with our provider to conduct month-to-month audits to determine points and make sure that our excessive requirements are upheld,” including that each one its suppliers, together with Foxconn, rent married girls.

Foxconn stated it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination primarily based on marital standing, gender, faith or some other kind.”

Attorneys advised Reuters Indian legislation would not bar firms from discriminating in hiring primarily based on marital standing. Apple’s and Foxconn’s insurance policies, nonetheless, prohibit such hiring practices of their provide chains.

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)