Amazon said it pushed Chinese factory for reforms before report published

Amazon said it has called on a supplier to clean up its act at a Chinese factory where a watchdog group says it observed harsh conditions and mistreatment of workers. Amazon said it had discovered "two issues of concern" at the Foxconn factory in Hengyang earlier this year. The concerns involved treatment of dispatch workers and overtime pay, Amazon spokesman Ty Rogers said. He did not respond to a request for further details. Amazon's admission comes after an investigation by the US-based watchdog group China Labor Watch, and The Observer — The Guardian's weekly newspaper — into worker conditions at the Hengyang factory, where Echo smart speakers and Kindle e-readers are made. A report about the investigation, which was carried out between August 2017 and April 2018, published on China Labor Watch's website Sunday. It alleges multiple violations of Chinese labor law at the factory. It also describes an environment where 60-hour workweeks are ...