Foxconn cites improvements in working conditions after 'overwork' criticism

The Foxconn Technology Group defended itself on Tuesday after being criticized for overworking its employees, arguing that more focus should be paid to its improvement despite its imperfections.

"We have strictly followed the policy of giving workers one day off after six working days to offer them adequate rest. Meanwhile, Foxconn has been improving its level of industrial automation to keep workers away from boring, tiring and repetitive jobs," read the company's statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The statement came after the All-China Federation of Trade Unions named the company as an example of a company that overworks its employees.

"Some companies make workers work for more than 10 hours a day. Companies like Foxconn have long been violating the law through long hours of overwork, which resulted in psychological problems among some of its employees. Death from overwork and suicide sometimes happen," Guo Jun, an official with the federation, told reporters.

"It saddens and surprises us to hear Mr. Guo Jun link overwork to psychological problems that lead to suicide and death from overwork," Foxconn's statement read, "Mr Guo has never visited any Foxconn plants. Therefore, jumping to such a conclusion is unconvincing."

Foxconn has had several cases of suicide in its plants. In 2010, the group's plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province witnessed a dozen suicide attempts and 10 employees died, it was widely reported.

Since then, Foxconn began to "correct mistakes to offer material and spiritual help to our employees," according to its statement. "We have taken the lead, setting up care centers and hired professional psychological consultants to support our employees. Every year, we appropriate over 100 million yuan ($15.9 million) to support them."

The People's Daily ran an opinion piece on Tuesday, urging the authorities to closely supervise on companies that are only "looking to maximize benefits" and to hold the people in charge accountable when there are violations.