APPLE factory workers are allegedly forced to eat rotten food and are crammed into rat-filled dorms while working for ￡3.50 a day, a new investigation has revealed.

       Six women - who assemble iPhones in the Foxconn-run plant in Chennai, India - spoke out about the sickening conditions they are forced to endure.

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       Workers at a Foxconn factory in India Credit: Getty 2

       Factory workers endured terrible conditions while assembling iPhones Credit: Getty

       Factory workers told Reuters how they were forced to sleep on the floor in dormitories with up to 30 women sleeping in a single room.

       One worker said that at least one of the rooms had no running water.

       “People living in the hostels always had some illness or the other, skin allergies, chest pain, food poisoning,” a 21-year-old woman, who quit following a protest, told Reuters.

       “We didn’t make a big deal out of it because we thought it will be fixed. But now, it affected a lot of people.”

       The factory's deplorable conditions came into the spotlight earlier this month when around 250 women got food poisoning.

       159 of those women, aged between 18 and 22, were later hospitalised sparking a rare protest.

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       Apple has since put the factory "on probation" after finding that the dining rooms and dormitories did not meet requirements.

       Foxconn, a Taiwanese firm, apologised and said it was investigating the situation.

       "We are very sorry for the issue our employees experienced and are taking immediate steps to enhance the facilities and services we provide," Foxconn said in a statement.

       The workers make an equivalent of about ￡103 a month also have to pay Foxconn's contractor for food and housing while they work at the plant.

       Most of the women come from rural areas in the province, the head of a women workers' union told Reuters.

       'WE DESERVE A RESPECTFUL WORKPLACE'

       The plant was central to the tech giant's efforts to move production out of China over the ongoing trade war and was opened in 2019.

       Meanwhile, dozens of Apple employees in the United States staged a Christmas Eve walkout and urged customers to boycott the company.

       The protest, organized by the advocacy group Apple Together, came during the last-minute Christmas shopping rush

       In a statement issued on Twitter, the group said: "We are Apple. We deserve a respectful workplace. We deserve paid sick time. We deserve protection on the frontlines. We deserve proper mental healthcare.

       "Demand that. Apple upholds its image with your wallet. Don't shop in stores. Don't shop online. #AppleWalkout."

       Organizers of the walkout said that at least 50 workers across three states called out of work on Friday.

       Apple has been contacted for comment.