Labour Ministry Takes Cognisance On Report Of Gender Bias At Foxconn India's iPhone Plant

The Ministry of Labour and Employment acknowledged the media reports that mentioned married women not being allowed to work at Foxconn India's iPhone plant.

The Labour Ministry has requested a detailed report on the same from the Labour Department of the Tamil Nadu government, according to a media statement.

According to Section 5 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, no discrimination should be made while hiring men or women for any job. Since the state government is responsible for enforcing and safeguarding this provision, the centre has demanded a report from them, it said.

Further, the office of the Regional Chief Labour Commissioner is also required to furnish the report to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

The move comes after Reuters reported on Tuesday about the exclusion of married women from jobs by Foxconn at its main India iPhone assembly plant. Foxconn typically doesn’t hire married women because of “cultural issues” and societal pressures, Reuters reported quoting S Paul, a former human-resources executive at Foxconn India.