The story is bizarre, but it has been confirmed by several sources linked to a Hyundai supplier in the United States with a good record of irregularities. The hiring of minors was commonplace until Reuters published a journalistic investigation.
The news has already gone around the world, search engines accumulate millions of results on the bomb news from Reuters on Friday, headlined: “Exclusive: Hyundai Supplier Has Used Child Labor In Alabama Factory”. The South Korean manufacturer has facilities near Montgomery, in the aforementioned state.
It all started when Pedro Tzi, a Guatemalan immigrant, reported on February 3 to the Enterprise (Alabama) police that his 13-year-old daughter had not come home. Agents began searching for her and a missing person notice was posted for her. In addition, a search and arrest warrant was issued for Álvaro Cucul, 21, on suspicion that she could be with him.
They appeared in Athens, in the State of Georgia, 500 kilometers from Enterprise. He stated that they had gone there to find a better job, and that they were friends. Cucul was arrested and deported from the country, while she – her name has been protected – returned to her family. That’s where an investigation begins, because both she and Álvaro had worked for SMART Enterprisea Hyundai supplier.
The journalistic investigation has revealed that SMART has used child labor not once, but several times. It has happened over time, it was something public and notorious within the provider as a dark secret. Children from the age of 12 worked in its facilities.
Moreover, the 13-year-old girl had two other brothers working there, ages 12 and 15, and the father had also worked for the supplier. The parent justified himself in desperation to get income at a bad time. They will no longer work there and are enrolled in the next school year.
Obviously, a few local, state and federal laws are violated. Specifically in Alabama, minors under the age of 18 cannot work in metal stamping factories like the ones made at SMART Alabama LLC, what’s more, schooling is compulsory until the age of 17.
Hyundai headquarters in the United States
Reuters has obtained several testimoniesboth workers and former workers, who ensure that it was normal to see minors working in the plant. Not only that, some accepted long hours of work and were absent from the institute.
Hyundai has a labor policy not to accept minors in all its factories and those of its suppliers. SMART Alabama LLC is a supplier majority owned by Hyundai, so it is partly the responsibility of the manufacturer.
For its part, the provider argued that the temporary work agencies, to which they used to go, should be responsible for the eligibility of the employees, that is, that they meet the criteria to be workers. Probably his supervisors are all blind, although that is not so clear. After the Reuters publication, there were dismissals of several underage workersaccording to employees.
hyundai santa fe
The company is a “little jewel”, since the government agency OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has imposed several fines on SMART Alamaba for non-compliance with occupational safety regulations such as risks of crushing or amputations.
The competent authorities at the state and federal level are already investigating this matter in a coordinated manner.
It is assumed that the supplier has needed to cover jobs “in that way” several times due to the need to meet the deadlines of Hyundai and its logistics chain “just in time”. This has caused irregular hiring of foreign workersin addition to capturing minors who were visually unmistakably too young to work.
The supplier’s factory provides parts for the Elantra, Sonata and Santa Fe models, which are built locally and account for just over a third of Hyundai’s sales in the country. At the time of publishing this information there is no press release on the manufacturer’s website on this matter, nor has Reuters met their requests for information.
Font: Reuters