Inside Apple's top secret iPhone factory: Tech giant provides a glimpse of huge Chinese plant where 50,000 pink-jacketed staff are subjected to facial recognition, metal detectors and daily roll calls

Rare access given inside Pegatron Corp's massive factory in Shanghai, China, which assembles iPhones for Apple.[CN]

为苹果公司组装iPhone手机的和硕联合集团上海大规模工厂内部情形罕见曝光

Workers line up with military precision to have their ID badges scanned on an iPad by a supervisor during roll call.[CN]

点名时，工人们整齐列队，管理者用iPad扫描他们的工牌。

They then make their way in single file to the assembly line where they undergo facial recognition checks to clock in.[CN]

然后他们鱼贯而入(/in single file:排成纵队，鱼贯/)，走向装配线，这里他们被要求做面部识别检查，打卡上班(/clock in:打卡上班/)。

Companies granted access to Western media for the first time after facing accusations staff worked gruelling hours.[CN]

在遭到要求工人超负荷工作的指控后，公司首次同意西方媒体的访问。

Military efficiency: Hundreds of workers line up for roll call at the Pegatron factory in Shanghai, China, which makes iPhones for Apple[CN]

军队的效率：数百名工人排队点名(/roll call:点名/)

Clocking in: A supervisor holds an  iPad as he checks an employee's badge during roll call at a Pegatron factory in Shanghai, China

Lined up with military precision, hundreds of employees wait to make iPhones at one of the most secretive factories in the Apple production line.[CN]

苹果产品线的一个最秘密的工厂，成百的职员像军队一样排着整齐的队伍，等待制作iPhone手机。

Dressed in pink jackets, blue hairnets and plastic slippers, the workers have their ID badges scanned on an iPad by a supervisor at morning roll call.[CN]

工人们穿着粉红色夹克，戴着蓝色发网，穿着塑料拖鞋，管理者用iPad扫描他们的工牌做早晨的点名。

From there, they make their way in single file to the assembly line but not before undergoing facial recognition checks at security turnstiles  to clock in.[CN]

从那里，他们排队走到装配线，但是在之前他们经过安全回转门时被要求做面部扫描检查，打卡上班。

Pegatron Corp employs up to 50,000 people to assemble iPhones at its plant in Shanghai which covers an area the size of 90 football fields.[CN]

该公司在上海的这个工厂雇佣了5万多iPhones装配员工，工厂面积有90个足球场大。

Keeping tabs: A supervisor scans staff into an iPad during the morning roll call before they head to the assembly line to make iPhones

A supervisor checks names of staff at the Pegatron factory, the secretive realm where the world's most profitable smartphones are made

Roll call: Pegatron and Apple have adopted new procedures to keep assemblers from doing excessive overtime after years of accusations

As they enter the compound, workers must pass through metal detectors designed to weed out any camera or video equipment that could be used to leak details of any unreleased technology.

They then climb up a stairwell that has a safety net draped across the middle – to prevent accidents or suicide attempts – before getting changed into their uniforms and lining up for roll call. 

Until now, the factory's inner workings have been a closely guarded secret.

But the two firms have, for the first time, allowed a western journalist  inside after facing years of accusations that their staff were having to work gruelling hours on low pay.

Jenny Chan, a lecturer at Oxford's Kellogg College, said: 'The fact they let a reporter in shows that they are responding to external pressure and trying to be more transparent. At least on the surface, they're trying to fix something.' 

According to China Labour Watch, base salaries are so low employees are forced to work overtime just to get by, with one employee revealing her salary was 2,020 yuan (£230) a month. An iPhone 6 in China costs 4,488 yuan (£480).

Employees line up for roll call at the Pegatron Corp factory in Shanghai, China, before heading to the assembly line for the day's work

Off to work they go: The staff wear blue hair nets and plastic slippers as they make their way to the assembly area after roll call

Army of workers: As many as 50,000 people assemble iPhones at the factory which is part of Apple Inc's closely guarded supply chain

On the march: The workers follow arrows on the floor and inspirational posters on the wall as they make their way to the assembly line

Punching in: Employees make their way towards the assembly line area where the world's most profitable smartphones are made for Apple

Giving a tour to the reporter from Bloomberg, the head of the facility John Sheu said the new ID system was introduced to improve efficiency, adding that 'every seconds counts.'

But he says it also allows the company to monitor when staff are working too many hours by sending managers automated messages if they near the 60-hour weekly limit or have clocked in six days in a row. 

Pegatron said it adheres to the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition's guidelines that cap overtime at roughly 80 hours a month, while Apple said its suppliers stick to the industry group's code of conduct.

The system also gives them a higher level of income transparency by letting staff check their hours, pay stubs and monthly lodging and food expenses at touchscreen terminals around the campus.

An employee looks into a facial recognition device which registers workers when they enter the assembly line area at the Pegatron factory

Staff look into facial recognition devices as they swipe their badges to enter the assembly line area at the Pegatron factory in Shanghai

Time for work: Employees walk through turnstiles to enter the assembly line area at the Pegatron Corp factory in Shanghai, China

The factory is one of the most secretive facilities in the iPhone production line and covers an area equal to almost 90 football fields

An employee uses a facial recognition device as she swipes her badge to enter the assembly line area at the Pegatron Corp factory

Access to the factory comes a month after the family of a 26-year-old worker at the plant claimed he died after working up to 12 hours a day.

Tian Fulei was found dead on February 3 in a dormitory he shared with other workers near Shanghai at Pegatron.

A verdict of 'sudden death' was given in court, but no autopsy was carried out.

Mr Tian's family said he worked relentless overtime hours at Pegatron and his death came less than two months after an undercover BBC Panorama investigation revealed how workers there worked to the point of collapse. 

His sister, Tian Zhoumei, 25, told MailOnline that her brother had been healthy up until his death and blamed overworking for his demise.

Pegatron has denied a link between the death and his working environment. 

The death of Mr Tian once again highlights concerns over the working conditions of lowly-paid workers feeding the world's demands for Apple's products.

The company announced it had made the largest quarterly profit in corporate history in January, posting £11.8bn in its fiscal first quarter. More than 74.5 million iPhones were sold worldwide in the three months leading to December 27 last year.

The Tian family were given 80,000 Yuan (£8,300) as a 'gesture' from Pegatron – an amount upped from 15,000 Yuan (£1,500) after police aided negotiations. 

The statement read: 'Worker safety and well-being are our top priorities and we work hard to make sure every Pegatron facility provides a healthy work environment for our workers. 

'We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tian Fulei who worked with us as a visual inspector on the assembly line in our Shanghai facility.

'We investigated the circumstances of this case immediately, finding no link to the work environment. We provided support and assistance to the Tian family and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.' 

A spokesperson for Apple's Supplier Responsibility department said the company would look into the death-related claims but refused to comment directly on them. 

Industrial: An employee changes into his uniform at his locker before heading to the morning roll call

Staff walk past rows of lockers. Pegatron says it adopted the new ID system to create an efficient and responsible working environment'

More like an airport: Employees sit at an employee service centre inside the Pegatron Corp factory in Shanghai, China

Employees look at their smartphones while sitting at an employee service centre inside the Pegatron Corp factory in Shanghai, China

Employees check their pay stubs on computer terminals at an employee service centre inside the Pegatron Corp factory in Shanghai

Downtime: An employee buys two sausage sticks during his lunch break in the factory canteen

Pictures of employees hang on a wall at an employee service centre inside a Pegatron Corp factory in Shanghai, China