Samsung Electronics has suspended business with a Chinese supplier accused of hiring child workers, after finding evidence to suggest the allegations are accurate.

Last week China Labour Watch, a rights group, published an investigative report claiming to have found five underage workers in the factory of Shinyang Electronic, a Samsung supplier in Dongguan, southern China.

The following day the New York Times published a report including an interview with three girls, aged 14 or 15 years old, that it said worked at the factory.

Samsung had dismissed as impossible to confirm two separate CLW allegations of child labour in its supply chain.

Investigation

On Monday Samsung said it had conducted an investigation immediately after CLW’s report last Thursday, and that the probe appeared to confirm the accusation.

As a result, “Samsung decided to temporarily suspend business with the factory in question as it found evidence of suspected child labour at the worksite,” the South Korean company said. “If the investigations conclude that the supplier indeed hired children illegally, Samsung will permanently halt business with the supplier.”

Samsung said it appeared that the workers had been hired on June 29th, four days after the conclusion of a labour audit commissioned by Samsung and carried out by the South Korean agency DNV GL.

This marks the first time Samsung has reported finding indications of underage workers at its suppliers. In contrast, Apple’s latest annual audit of its suppliers reported 23 instances of child labour. The US group said it had ordered the companies to compensate the children and fund their education. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)