Foxconn Workers Strike After iPhone 5 Pressures Cause Fistfights

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The iPhone 5 is the most complex phone Apple’s ever made, which makes it extra hard for Foxconn’s employees to assemble. There’s so much pressure at Foxconn to produce an increased amount of iPhone 5s that some managers have been beat up by their workers after demanding too much.

According to a new report by China Labor Watch thousands of Foxconn workers have gone on strike due to the immense pressures involved with building the iPhone 5. The main problem is that unqualified workers are being asked to build intricate devices without proper training. They keep messing up and the quality control gets on to them and they get pissed.

“Quality control inspectors fell into to conflicts with workers and were beat up multiple times by workers. Factory management turned a deaf ear to complaints about these conflicts and took no corrective measures. The result of both of these circumstances was a widespread work stoppage on the factory floor among workers and inspectors.”
The brawls between quality control inspectors and workers has even led to damage in the inspection rooms and some workers have been injured and hospitalized. The strike is comprised of 4,000 workers which is only a small number of people compared to Foxconn’s total staff, but it may be enough to slow down iPhone 5 production for the time being.

10-6-12

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Foxconn officials on Saturday issued a statement denying a strike hit the company's Zhengzhou iPhone plant on Friday, claiming instead that the factory was the site of two small altercations days earlier which had no impact on production.

In a statement emailed to Reuters, Foxconn was quick to deny widely reported claims of a worker strike and subsequent stoppage of multiple iPhone 5 assembly lines on Friday.

"Any reports that there has been an employee strike are inaccurate," Foxconn said, adding that "there has been no workplace stoppage in that facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule."

The Taiwan-based company admitted there were two "brief and small" disputes earlier this month, however the quarrels were "immediately addressed and measures taken, including providing additional staff for the lines in question."

According to a Friday report from China Labor Watch, 3,000 to 4,000 workers on quality control lines at Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory, which Apple CEO Tim Cook happened to visit in January, went on strike, allegedly stopping production for an unknown period of time. Supposedly at issue were overly stringent demands from company managers and Apple regarding nicks and scratches on iPhone 5 units leaving the factory, with the new requirements putting undue pressure on already agitated employees.

Foxconn also denied allegations of vacation cuts, and said laborers who chose to work over China's National Day holiday were paid three times their normal wages, in line with the country's laws.

Interestingly, the electronic manufacturer's statements are contrary to a report from China's Xinhua news agency, which noted a government spokesman for the Zhengzhou industrial zone said about 100 Foxconn inspectors refused to go back to work after one was reputedly beaten by disgruntled workers.

"The instruction to strengthen quality inspections for the iPhone 5 was given by Apple Inc. following multiple complaints from customers regarding aesthetic flaws in the phone," said the unnamed spokesman.

Despite reports of brand new iPhone 5s being "scuffed" out of the box, Apple has been slammed with orders for its newest handset.

Due to the secrecy and low level of media access to Foxconn's factories, it is difficult to determine the veracity of each party's claims, though in either case it appears that the factory lines are up and running.

10-6-12

appleinsider.com

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The riot resulted in broken windows at the Foxconn factory.

Following reports of a riot between 4,000 employees earlier this month, Foxconn has acknowledged that two disputes between workers did take place at one of its Chinese plants. However, the company has denied claims of a strike over iPhone 5 production pressures, and says that production is on schedule.
In a statement to Reuters, Foxconn said:

Any reports that there has been an employee strike are inaccurate. There has been no workplace stoppage in that facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule.
Foxconn says it “immediately addressed” the issues that took place on October 1 and October 2, and it insists that “measures [were] taken, including providing additional staff for the lines in question.” It also said that the workers who worked over China’s National Day break did so voluntarily, and were paid three times their usual hourly rate.

The company also maintains that production remains on schedule at an important time for Apple, while the iPhone 5 is still in high demand, and a rumored iPad mini is on the way.

10-8-12

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