An investigative report reveals a Chinese factory supplying parts for Apple has again violated the basic standards protecting the health and safety of its workers.

A report from China Labor Watch (CLW) and Green America showed that Apple supplier, Catcher Technology, based in Suqian forced all its poorly paid workers to do overtime work, sometimes without pay.

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The factory was investigated by CLW 16 months earlier and promised reforms. Unfortunately, factory conditions have gotten worse since then, said CLW.

CLW conducted the investigation again in August and released a final report Thursday. It discovered 22 labor violations.

These include locked fire exits; lack of safety equipment to protect workers from hazardous chemicals and mandatory overtime.

The report said workers were required to work up to 100 hours of overtime per month, which is nearly three times the limit of 36 hours mandated by Chinese labor law. There were instances in which workers were not paid for overtime work.

Other malpractices at the factory saw management force workers to pay for their drinking water. Workers also paid for the right to take showers in their dorms. They were also not allowed to complain to upper management.

Apple, Inc. commented on report, saying that the company audits regularly the plants and works closely with its operators to raise standards and implement best labor practices.

The Cupertino-based company said in a statement they are devoted to implementing safe and fair working conditions

"Our suppliers must live up to the toughest standards in the industry if they want to keep doing business with Apple. We know our work is never done, and we are devoted to constant improvement."

On the other hand, Catcher Technology said they take the CLW investigation seriously and will commit to follow Apple's supplier code of conduct.

Catcher Technology is also a supplier of Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, HTC and Motorola. The parent company is based in Taiwan and employs 20,000 workers.

TagsChina Labor Watch, labor violation, labor malpractice, Catcher Technology