Excited for the upcoming November release of the Wii U? New reports out of China might curb that enthusiasm. These reports claim that some underage teens were used to assemble the Nintendo Wii U consoles.
According to Chinese site Sina, Foxconn, the company hired by Nintendo to assemble the Wii U, confirms that it's had underage individuals working its factory in northeastern China.
According to a recent report on Chinese website Games QQ, Foxconn's Yantai factory had interns aged 14 to 16 work overtime to churn out the Wii U. (The site specifically mentions the Wii U.)
This report originally surfaced on China National Radio's "Voice of China" program (via Games QQ and China Labor Watch). According to the report, Foxconn's Yantai factory began using students from secondary technical schools in Jiangsu Province in "forced" internships.
The students were apparently able to leave at any time; however, their teachers supposedly threatened them, saying "if you don't intern, then you won't get any credit, won't receive a graduation diploma, or may even be kicked out of school."
The China National Radio report stated that interns at the Yantai factory worked on the factory floor in production and transportation.
"I did transport work, helping them move goods," said 14 year-old Xiao Wang (alias). "Right now, the night shift is 7:40 PM until the morning... you know, til what time in the morning is uncertain. Whenever the work is done is when you get off your shift. If you don't finish the work, he (the production line foreman) won't let you end your shift. Usually, you can get off by 7 AM. My arms would hurt from the work."
After working consecutive night and overtime shifts, the report states that Wang asked for sick leave, but didn't get approval and was then fired after registering for "absenteeism", his third. He was allegedly told that he would be kicked out of school, because he was fired from the factory.
The China National Radio story also claims that students under 16 had to work overtime, as well as nights. One underage student said that no days off were given.
"Our investigation has shown that the interns in question, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, had worked in that campus for approximately three weeks," Foxconn said in an official statement (via Reuters).
"This is not only a violation of China's labour law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy and immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions."
