Foxconn, the world’s largest iPhone supplier, announced this Thursday (24), that the violent protests that have taken place since yesterday at its mega-factory in Zhengzhou, China, have been brought under control. According to an interviewed source Reuters, the company continues to communicate with employees involved in minor conflicts. A strong police force was deployed at the factory gates.
The Taiwan-based company apologized in an official statement and attributed the confusion to a “technical error” in its payment systems. Hundreds of workers hesitated to receive their wages gathered to protest and they even smashed security cameras and windows with the actions being broadcast live on social networks.
—Hunter (@gexiaohongqq) 23 November 2022
Understand the protests
Worker allegations involving explicit scenes of protest are extremely rare in China and can have meanings that go beyond just that. Incompetence of Apple’s third-party company to avoid any misunderstanding.
It’s also in the background A general outrage of workers with strict rules to combat covid-19, which forces them to literally live in factories. In addition to the rumor that they will have to share the dormitories with the workers who are positive for Kovid, the claim that the bonus payments to the workers who stay for a long time without returning to their homes have been postponed, triggered the protests.
By BBCIn live-streamed protest scenes, it was possible to translate a worker’s claim: “They changed the contract so we wouldn’t get the subsidy they promised. They quarantine us but don’t give us food“. Finally, the promise “If they don’t meet our needs, we’ll keep fighting”.
Source: Tec Mundo
