Foxconn To Miss Apple Overtime Deadline

Efforts to improve working conditions at Apple's main manufacturer in China, Foxconn, have made significant progress but the company will need more time to reduce overtime.

The conclusions were reached in the third report by monitors appointed by the US tech firm to investigate issues including previous use of children on production lines and high suicide and accident rates.

The Fair Labour Association (FLA) said Foxconn, which employs one million staff in China, had resolved 98% of the issues raised in its intial investigation, including cutting working hours, improving health and safety and increasing union participation.

But Foxconn had told the group it needed more time to hit a July 1 deadline to meet standards on overtime set by Chinese law, which stipulates a maximum of 40 working hours plus nine overtime hours a week.

Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo said: "We can't say when we can meet that target now. We're trying to come up with a realistic timetable."

Many Foxconn workers, migrants from other parts of China, oppose a reduction in overtime because they want to make as much money as possible in a short time.

Some workers have said they may leave the company if overtime is cut.

Foxconn is part of the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, Taiwan's Hon Hai, which draws an estimated 60 to 70% of its revenue from assembling gadgets and other work for Apple.

Earlier this year it denied that a recruitment freeze it imposed was linked to slowing production of the iPhone 5.