The Union Government of India has asked one of its state governments to submit a detailed report regarding a controversy over the non-hiring of married women in iPhone assembly jobs in the country.
Following a report by Reuters about Apple supplier Foxconn rejecting married women from iPhone assembly jobs, the central government’s Ministry of Labour and Employment has sought a detailed report from the Labour Department of the Tamil Nadu state.
In a statement calling for the probe, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment cited the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, saying the law “clearly stipulates that no discrimination (is) to be made while recruiting men and women workers”.
A Reuters investigation found that Foxconn has been excluding married women from jobs at its main iPhone plant near Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, claiming that married women have more family responsibility than unmarried women.
The Ministry of Labour “takes note of media reports on married women not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant”, the statement said.