Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that produces components for Apple products, has come under fire for harsh working conditions at its China facilities. But just how bad is it?

Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that produces components for Apple products, has come under fire for harsh working conditions at its China facilities. Recently it was reported that Foxconn even forced employees to sign a pledge promising that they . But just how bad is it?

A watchdog group traveled to two of Foxconn's more remote factories to interview workers, and found that most were working long hours for little pay, battling exposure to dust and harmful chemicals, and undergoing "military style" training sessions.

Foxconn denied any wrongdoing.

China, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM) is designating Saturday, May 7 as a Global Action Day in order to encourage more humane working conditions. In particular, SACOM is focusing its attention on Apple, which works with Foxconn on production of gadgets like the iPhone and iPad.

"The campaigners are asking Apple to improve their purchasing practices as fair prices and well-planned lead times will allow suppliers to pay a living wage and prevent long overtime hours and Apple has to check the wages and the overtime hours," SACOM said.

SACOM recently visited Foxconn factories in Zhengzhou in the Henan Province and Chengdu in the Sichuan Province, both of which produce the Apple iPad, as well as HP laptops. They talked to employees who were on breaks or just arriving at work to get a sense of how they are treated as Foxconn employees.

Not surprisingly, money is a top gripe. According to those interviewed, Foxconn will typically promise wages between CNY 1600 (about $246) and CNY 2000 ($307) per month, which is pretty good for rural China. But in reality, workers are earning closer to CNY 950 ($146) per month. They can earn more by doing overtime, but getting paid for that overtime can sometimes be a hassle. Many workers reported that their paychecks are consistently missing shifts, and getting their money is an arduous process.

In the wake of last year's suicides, Foxconn did increase its workers wages, but as noted by SACOM, some crafty number work by Foxconn meant that workers did not get as much as was promised.

"Nevertheless, it is good to know basic wage at Foxconn is raised," the SACOM report said. "SACOM hopes that it is the pay rise is out of Foxconn's commitment to a better living wage but not as a strategy to dilute media attention."

While overtime is meant to be voluntary, some workers reported that it was often forced upon them. In an interview with one man, "he grumbled that if he requests to leave the shop floor after the regular shift, he will not be assigned any overtime for a month. 'If there is no overtime at all, I will only receive the basic salary. Hence, I have no choice,'" he told SACOM.

As a result, many Foxconn workers in these regions have little social life. Most live with six other people in a Foxconn dorm room in a remote area of China, and spend most of their days commuting, working, eating, or sleeping. "Asking the workers what they would like to do on holiday, most of them respond, 'sleep,'" the report said. Many also must stand for hours at a time.

SACOM also had some health-related concerns. The southern campus of the Chengdu plant is still under construction, so many workers are exposed to dust as they work or treacherous, muddy walkways outside. Others must handle glue and other chemicals, but few actually what effect they might have on their health.

"Workers from CNC metal working in Super Precision Mechanical Business Group (SHZBG) in Chengdu are exposed to cutting fluid. According to workers, they have to drill screw holes on an iPad case," the report said. "Cutting fluid is used to cool down the product. A worker finds the smell is irritating and the mask cannot really filter the smell. He had asked the superior about the harm of the chemical but there was no response. He then looked it up on internet and found the chemical is harmful to lungs."

Given that some of the facilities are still under construction, some of the workers have not yet started work. In the interim, they are reportedly subjected to "military-style training," which SACOM said basically involves a lot of standing and walking, possibly to condition them for the hours of standing on the factory floors.

"In mid- April, researchers observed about 10 Foxconn workers holding documents jogged to the recruitment centre in Pi County. The supervisor jogged with the workers and chanted 'one, two, one, two.' Soon after that, a group of student workers walk to the recruitment centre," the report said.

SACOM concluded that it is "hypocritical that Foxconn hires a number of counselors, opens up care centres and launches hotline service for workers after the spate of suicides, but imposes harsh management on workers at the same time."

In a statement provided to PCWorld, Foxconn said the SACOM account was not accurate. "We have made tremendous progress over the past year as we work to lead our industry in meeting the needs of the new generation of workers in China and that has been confirmed by the many customer representatives, outside experts, and reporters who have visited our facilities and openly met with our employees and our management team," Foxconn said.