Uniden

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources

Maker of UHF radios, dash cams and phones.

Uniden can't show that the workers who make its products in Vietnam earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.

Also worth knowing

It has no full independent audit.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries and untraced high-risk mined materials. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.

How grades are decided

Good requirements 1 of 6

Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as China and South Korea, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
Not met: Traces its cobalt, gold and other conflict minerals to the mine

Red flags 3

Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
Red flag: Relies on high-risk mined materials it can't traceShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)

Stars it would earn as Good

None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Where it's made

Uniden names some of the countries it makes in: Vietnam and South Korea. The rest is shown as where electronics are usually made.

Where it's made, and conditions there
Country	Worker rights	Legal minimum wage	Forced labour risk
ChinaUsual for the industry	No guarantee of rights	Below a living wage	Moderate
Vietnam	Systematic violations	Well below a living wage	Moderate
South Korea	No guarantee of rights	Close to a living wage	Low
TaiwanUsual for the industry	Strong protections	Close to a living wage	Low
MalaysiaUsual for the industry	No guarantee of rights	Below a living wage	Moderate
IndiaUsual for the industry	No guarantee of rights	Well below a living wage	High

Evidence

What we found

Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread.
Makes part of its range in its own factories
Relies on metals such as cobalt, gold and tin from artisanal mines where miners, including children, face toxic dust, mercury exposure and deadly tunnel collapses. It hasn't shown any steps to trace these materials to the mine, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.

Research notes Uniden makes wireless communication equipment at its own factory, Uniden Vietnam, in Hai Phong, and radar detectors at its Korean subsidiary Attowave; a Shenzhen subsidiary buys components. It does not say what share of its range comes from these factories or from other makers. It publishes no supplier list, audit results, conflict-minerals report, modern slavery statement or living wage commitment. Strikes over pay and union rights at its former Shenzhen factory in 2005 are too old to count. It is not rated by Baptist World Aid or KnowTheChain.

What independent sources say

Source	Result	Details
Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report	Not covered	Not rated: Baptist World Aid's Electronics Industry Report series ended in 2016, and the brand was not in it. View
KnowTheChain	Not covered	Not among the 45 large companies assessed in the 2025 KnowTheChain ICT benchmark. View
Australian Modern Slavery Register	Unclear	A search of the Australian Modern Slavery Register returns no statement from Uniden or Uniden Australia (November 2026). View

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources

Uniden DASHVIEW60R dash camera (JB Hi-Fi) · search the archive · Uniden products sold by JB Hi-Fi in Australia
Workers strike for right to unionise (AsiaNews, 2005) · search the archive · 2005 strikes over pay and union rights at Uniden's former Shenzhen factory
Valencia K.K. tender offer for Uniden Holdings (MarketScreener, 2022) · search the archive · Valencia K.K., a Cornwall vehicle, bought 57.6% of Uniden Holdings in its 2022 tender offer

Published by Uniden or its owner

Uniden Holdings company overview · search the archive · Tokyo HQ; 763 subsidiary and 33 holding staff (July 2025); Uniden Vietnam makes wireless equipment in Hai Phong; Attowave in Korea
Uniden America: About Uniden · search the archive · 2022: Uniden Holdings acquired by Cornwall Capital; subsidiaries set up in Shenzhen (1993), Jiangxi (2002) and Uniden Vietnam (2007)
Uniden Holdings: group companies · search the archive · Uniden Vietnam (Tan Truong Industrial Zone, Hai Duong) produces telecom equipment; Shenzhen unit handles parts procurement

Company details

Owned by: Cornwall Capital (private equity, New York)
Headquarters: Japan
Employees: About 796
Last researched: 3 November 2026
Cite this page: Labour Lens, "Is Uniden ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/uniden, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method: Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Better-graded phones

3 refurbished sellers, Good by ruleBuying second-hand or refurbished: Frank Mobile, Back Market and Reebelo · See them allGood FairphoneMissing: living wage proof, worker rights protections and traced raw materials · ElectronicsModular, repairable smartphones and earbudsPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verified

No phones brand selling new goods is Good yet. This is the strongest so far. Second-hand and refurbished goods create no new factory work, so they're Good by rule and come first.

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