See Apple Workers Engaging In Violent Protest Over Working Conditions
Foxconn workers that assemble Apple iPhones are engaging in violent protests over concerns related to wages and a sustaining facility-wide Covid-related lockdown.
Workers at the Foxconn factory in China, where most of Apple’s iPhones are assembled, have been protesting. The protests are allegedly being fueled by contentions related to pay bonuses and a Covid-19-related facility lockdown. Video footage has been captured depicting workers violently clashing with law enforcement personnel dressed in hazmat suits.
Due to the violent nature of the content viewer discretion is advised.
The protests reportedly began in one section of a worker’s dormitory on Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. The main cause that incited the protests were allegedly workers’ concerns over whether or not they would receive the pay that they were promised. However, given that these individuals have been locked up in quarantine for weeks due to a Covid-19 outbreak, tensions were likely already running high.
Additionally, rumors had allegedly been circulating that Foxconn was allowing infected employees to work among the general populace so that its production goals continued to be met. In fact, swaths of workers hired to build Apple’s iPhones walked out of the facility back in October over suspicions related to sick employees working alongside healthy ones.
One worker who spoke to the Wall Street Journal said that situation has escalated to a point where all food services have stopped. In a desperate attempt to secure sustenance, the worker was driven to quickly grab whatever food they could find, essentially looting the cafeteria. The worker also noted that all security presence has left. “There’s basically no security in the factory campus,” said the confined employee.
Moreover, Aiden Chow, a researcher who works for the rights group China Labor Bulletin, insinuated that October’s events and the ones currently happening at Foxconn presently are directly connected. “The exodus from the site in October and protests on Tuesday were not a coincidence,” said Chow. If Chow’s assessment of the situation is true it wouldn’t be surprising.
An investigation into Foxconn back in 2017 revealed the harsh working conditions that employees endure while there. A student documentary that originally aired on NBC exposed employees working tirelessly on assembling Apple’s iPhones during shifts that were so long and grueling that they could be easily classified as inhumane. And unfortunately, workers at Foxconn endure this so that they can make enough money to provide for their families, as the factory offers wages that are far higher than average as a way to lure more laborers to the facility.
At this point, it looks that while Apple is apprised of the situation happening at Foxconn they are not actively trying to resolve it and are leaving it in the hands of the factory. Regardless, the situation at Foxconn has now reportedly escalated to the point where it is affecting iPhone production. Apple did relay a statement saying that it expects iPhone shipments to be less than what was initially projected.
Interestingly, the current protests at Foxconn are happening parallel to Apple retail workers attempts to unionize in the United States. Apple retail employees at multiple stores across the nation are vying for union representation on the grounds that the stores have lost concern for the wellbeing of its employees and have become more concerned with the amount of money they can generate.
