The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has criticized labor officials for failing to thoroughly investigate allegations of employment discrimination at Foxconn’s iPhone assembly plant in India. The watchdog has instructed federal and Tamil Nadu state officials to reevaluate Foxconn’s hiring practices after reports revealed the exclusion of married women from assembly line jobs, a ban that it was reduced during peak production periods. The NHRC directive comes as Foxconn and Apple look to expand manufacturing in India, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to boost electronics production in the country.

According to a Reuters report, labor officials conducted a site visit to the Foxconn plant in July, but did not make their findings public. Documents it reviewed showed Tamil Nadu labor officials told the NHRC that 6.7 percent of the 33,360 women employed at the plant were married, without specifying whether they worked on the assembly line. The officials stated that the hiring of female employees from six districts “makes it clear that the company has hired a large number of female employees … without any kind of discrimination.” However, the NHRC noted that the officials failed to address the central issue of discrimination against married women.

The NHRC stated that labor officials “filed their reports in a routine/casual manner” and did not examine Foxconn’s procurement documents. The commission stressed that “the presence of (a) certain number of female employees at present does not answer the question (of) whether the company had really discriminated against married women at the time of hiring”, emphasizing that officials were “apparently silent.” in this sense”.

The commission has ordered a “comprehensive inquiry” to be carried out within four weeks, mirroring its civil court-like powers to recommend remedial action, including compensation. Neither state nor federal labor departments responded to requests for comment on the NHRC assessment. The NHRC’s intervention aligns with the government’s contention that India’s Equal Remuneration Act prohibits discrimination in recruitment on the basis of gender.

(With inputs from Reuters)