On Sunday night, a dispute at a Foxconn factory in Taiyuan turned into a large-scale skirmish, mobilizing thousands of workers.
Reports as to the number of people sent to the hospital vary, but it is estimated that about 40 people were injured, leaving several in critical condition.
The plant in China's northwest Shanxi province employs about 79 thousand workers.
Foxconn has come under scrutiny lately for its poor labor practices. It was recently accused of using interns on the assembly line to meet deadlines for the iPhone 5. It also had to install security nets after a string of workers committed suicide by jumping from factory roofs in 2010.
Apple Manufacturer Foxconn Makes Employees Sign 'No Suicide' Pact
Workers at Foxconn's Chengdu factory, which manufactures Apple products, must reportedly sign a pledge promising they will not commit suicide.
Foxconn is notorious for the spate of suicides that occurred last summer. Though large nets were attached to catch workers trying to commit suicide, a new report by the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), shows that conditions at these facilities are still incredibly poor.
The Center is a nonprofit researching the activities of multinational corporations, while SACOM is a non-profit advocacy group for workers' rights.
According to Shanghaiist, the pact against suicide says it will provide "a reasonable pension" should employees kill or harm themselves
Foxconn Installs Anti-Suicide Nets at Its Facilities
Increasing attention has been paid to the sharp increase in suicides this year at Foxconn's Shenzhen factory which manufactures iPods, iPads, and iPhones. It also fills orders from a broad list of clientele including Dell, HP, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. With at least one employee dying from exhaustion as well, the pressure is on for Foxconn and its Taiwanese owner Hon Hai Precision Industry Ltd. to enact changes.
In the long term Foxconn is considering moving to Vietnam in order to lower labor costs, or replacing employees with robots at an automated facility in Taiwan. For now, it's using other measures to try to cut the suicide rate in China in the short term.
Among these measures appear to be a set of newly installed safety nets at some of its facilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment