Apple wants more flexible labour laws in India to promote diversity beyond China
According to media reports, executives from Apple and the lobby group Indian Cellular and Electronics Association, which represents the U.S. company and its suppliers such as Foxconn, Pegatron Corp. and Wistron Corp, met with state government officials for six months to push for the reforms.
Apple wants more flexible labour laws in India to promote diversity beyond China
Apple, the global electronics brand, is moving production out of China to increase product diversity. To move production out of China, Apple wants more flexible labour laws in India to have more leeway over existing regulations.
According to media reports, Apple wants to adopt new regulations that make shift work in factories more flexible to take advantage of low-cost manufacturing capabilities in India and meet global demand for Apple products.
Apple is coordinating with the Tamil Nadu state government to seek changes to India’s labour laws as part of its efforts to expand local production at the Foxconn Technology Plant.
According to media reports, executives from Apple and the lobby group Indian Cellular and Electronics Association, which represents the U.S. company and its suppliers such as Foxconn, Pegatron Corp. and Wistron Corp, met with state government officials for six months to push for the reforms.
The planned changes would bring local working hours up to the level of iPhone factories in China, the media report said.
The measures are part of Apple’s efforts to shift more production from China to countries such as India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for local production, financial incentives, and India’s relatively cheap labour have prompted Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron to increase production in the South Asian country.
Representatives from Apple, Foxconn and the Tamil Nadu government didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Pegatron and Wistron declined to comment.
Labour reforms are rare in India, and the country’s willingness to accommodate Apple now underscores how much it wants to become an electronics manufacturing hub. The proposed changes include allowing factories to operate in two shifts of 12 hours each, instead of the current three shifts of eight hours each.
Local authorities are keen to attract the business and jobs that the world’s most valuable technology company represents. The planned changes could also lead to more women working in factories.
More flexible shifts would allow women to avoid commuting on overnight buses, which are often considered unsafe. Apple and its suppliers are also in talks to build large women’s dormitories in and around factory facilities, which would reduce commute times, according to the media reports.
“These reforms are overdue and are at the heart of the policy objectives of the Make in India program,” the advocacy group ICEA said. “They help ensure that more women can work with safety and comfort in the work environment than ever before.”
The state of Karnataka, where Wistron’s iPhone plant is located and where Foxconn plans to build a new $700 million facility, passed a law in recent weeks allowing changes to labour regulations. The Financial Times had previously reported on Apple’s lobbying efforts in the state.
