The ministry said it has sought a detailed report from the Tamil Nadu labour department. (File)
Bengaluru:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government said on Wednesday it has asked the Tamil Nadu government to submit a “detailed report” after a Reuters report revealed Apple supplier Foxconn had rejected married women for iPhone assembly jobs in the country.
In a statement seeking the probe, the Ministry of Labour and Employment cited the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, saying the law “clearly stipulates that there shall be no discrimination while recruiting male and female workers.”
The ministry said it has sought a detailed report from the labour department in Tamil Nadu, the site of a major iPhone factory where Reuters exposed Foxconn's practice of firing married women.
The Labour Ministry said it has also directed the office of the regional Chief Labour Commissioner to provide a “factual report”.
Apple and Foxconn did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the government statement. The Tamil Nadu state government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside office hours.
A Reuters investigation published on Tuesday found that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main Indian iPhone plant near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, on the grounds that they had greater family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
Foxconn recruitment agents and human resources sources interviewed by Reuters cited family responsibilities, pregnancy and high absenteeism as reasons why Foxconn did not hire married women at its plants.
The statement said the Labour Ministry has “taken cognizance of media reports regarding married women not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant.”
Earlier, in response to Reuters questions for Tuesday's report, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to resolve the issues. However, all the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Sriperumbudur plant occurred in 2023 and 2024. The two companies did not address the 2023 and 2024 incidents.
Apple said that “when concerns were first raised about hiring practices in 2022, we took immediate action and conducted monthly audits in collaboration with our suppliers to identify issues and ensure our high standards are maintained,” adding that all of its suppliers, including Foxconn, employ married women.
Foxconn said it “strongly denies allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form of discrimination.”
Lawyers told Reuters that Indian law does not prevent companies from discriminating in hiring based on marital status. However, Apple and Foxconn have policies prohibiting such hiring practices in their supply chains.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)