In August 2006, an investigative report put out by Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, SACOM, exposed gross workers' rights violations at the Hivac Startech factory in Shenzhen, China. Hivac Startech is a second-tier supplier to Motorola, producing acrylic mobile phone lenses for two of Motorola's mobile phones.

Among the rights violations, nine workers were poisoned with n-hexane as a result of the company's failure to provide proper protection and proper ventilation. Three of the nine poisoned employees are still in the hospital, according to SACOM.

SACOM, the IMF and other NGO's are urging Motorola to uphold its code of conduct and improve the conditions of its suppliers to prevent the recurrence of future poisonings or other serious labour rights violations.

Motorola's response to the investigation has been to dramatically cut orders, instead of engaging Hivac to carry out efficient remedial procedures in the workplace and collaborate with independent NGOs to provide workers at all Motorola suppliers with labour rights training.

The drop in business has had a devastating effect on the workers, resulting in layoffs of almost half of its workforce.

"Moving from one supplier to another to avoid dealing with human and labour rights violations at the supplier level is in direct contradiction to what it means to have a code of conduct," Marcello Malentacchi, general secretary of the IMF said. "Motorola must not turn its back on Hivac workers."