Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354), a manufacturer for Apple’s iPhone 5, confirmed a two-hour strike at its Zhengzhou factory in China. According to Foxconn spokesperson Liu Kun, about 300 to 400 employees were involved in a strike last Friday, with no impact to the Zhengzhou factory’s production. The spokesperson also revealed that unions are communicating with the protesters and the case was considered closed.
Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) said the disputes occurred between factory line workers and quality assurance personnel on October 1-2 at its Zhengzhou plant and claims to have taken steps to address the disputes, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“There has been no workplace stoppage in that facility, or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule,” The Taiwan-based Company said in a statement.
One of the unnamed employees told a local news agency that the strike was peaceful and was organized to protest against the company’s neglect of employees’ needs and the high-pressure work environment.
However, the statement from the Taiwanese company was in complete contrast to report last Friday by China Labor Watch. According to the report from China Labor Watch, which had been tracking Foxconn and other Chinese factories, the strike happened in the afternoon and involved 3,000 to 4,000 workers when Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) forced its employees to work during the holidays and “raised overly strict demands on product quality without providing worker training for the corresponding skills”. Quoting workers, Chinese Labor Watch, told that the factory management and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) raised strict quality demands on workers, including rejecting phones with indentation standards of 0.02mm and making demands related to scratches on frames and back cover. The current incident follows a more violent outbreak of hostilities between workers and the manufacturer in September at Foxconn’s Taiyuan facilities, where about 40 individuals were taken to the hospital, and an undisclosed number of individuals were arrested.
Foxconn, world’s largest component maker, have 1.2 million employees in China, has come under scrutiny in the past few years amid reports of employees committing suicide at company facilities. The company has also been accused of employing underage laborers, providing poor living conditions at its dormitory housing, and overworking employees.
