Not Microsoft, but a factory in China who makes products for Microsoft are reportedly using children and teenagers to work for them, in harsh working conditions.The Pittsburgh-based National Labor Committee (NLC), in a report denounced conditions at a KYE Systems Corp factory in the city of Dongguan in Guangdong province.

The NLC, a private group with a stated mission to "help defend the human rights of workers in the global economy," said KYE recruits hundreds of "work study students" aged 16 and 17 years old who work 15-hour shifts, six and seven days a week.

It said that in 2007 and 2008, before the recession, "workers were at the factory 97 hours a week while working 80-and-a-half hours."

It is micro, so child labour is ok.

Bhootnath, when u use the word "guilty by association" the case becomes more complicated than an Indian TV serial saas bahu storyline. Microsoft, like any other corporate concern, maintains a list of vendor list, and like an IAS Exam, to get an approved vendor seal from Microsoft, u have to pass a series of tests for u r company.

Those tests typically test u r ability to:

1 Deliver on time with a certain fixed quality
2 Respond to customer complaints professionally and in a timely fashion

The theory is that if u r company has points one and two covered, it is indeed a professionally styled organization with sufficient cash flow, so such companies wouldn't do unethical acts like employ child labour. It is assumed that only companies that fail either point in 1 and 2 (or both) don't have solid fundamentals, and thus such companies are prone to doing things this way.

This is the assumption which all corporates make regarding their vendors as no corporate can afford to phys ...more