Hundreds of employees demonstrated their anger in China on Wednesday over their living conditions in the world’s largest iPhone factory, owned by Taiwanese subcontractor Foxconn and subject to strong anti-Covid restrictions. The factory is located in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province. It is a huge industrial site, nicknamed “iPhone city”, which generally employs some 200,000 people, most of whom live on site in dormitories. Faced since last October with an increase in cases of coronavirus, it is confined.
“They hit people”
China tirelessly pursues a zero Covid health policy, which involves strict confinements, quarantines for those who test positive and almost daily PCR tests, arousing growing discontent among the population. Students and workers are sometimes confined for many consecutive weeks to campuses or production sites, without the possibility of moving freely. Footage of the protests, posted on social media Twitter and Weibo, shows a crowd of workers marching down a street. Some face people in white full body suits and riot police.
On a video filmed at night, a man appears with a bloody face. Off camera, another is heard saying, “They are hitting people, they are hitting people. Do they have a conscience? AFP was able to verify this video in particular thanks to geolocation, which made it possible to recognize one of the buildings and barriers near the employee accommodation on the factory site. Another video shows cabins used for Covid screening tests destroyed and an overturned vehicle. In other images, hundreds of people in white overalls can be seen standing on a road near the factory dormitories. The person filming from an adjacent building says, “It’s starting again. It’s from last night until this morning. »
“Let’s defend our rights!” »
In a press release, Foxconn confirmed this Wednesday “violence” in its factory. The Taiwanese group acknowledged workers had complained about wages and working conditions at the factory, but denied accommodating new hires with coronavirus-positive staff. “Regarding any violence, the company (Foxconn) will continue to communicate with employees and the (Chinese) government to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” he said. On social media, a video apparently shows security guards kicking a person who appears to be a worker lying on a road. And on a video broadcast live, at night, dozens of workers shout “Let’s defend our rights!” in front of rows of police. Then the person filming yells “they’re charging!” and “Tear gas canisters!” “.
Another photo shows the charred remains of a portal. A video meanwhile shows several fire engines and police in white coveralls, while a voice over a loudspeaker chants: “All workers, please return to your accommodations, do not associate with a minority of disturbing elements. The hashtag #Foxconnriots appeared to be censored Wednesday on Chinese social media. A few posts referring to the protests, however, remained online. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP on Wednesday.
Leak of employees
Foxconn is a large group that assembles electronic products for many international brands. The Taiwanese company, Apple’s main subcontractor, has been faced in recent months with an increase in Covid cases at its Zhengzhou site. Foxconn had decided to confine the area, with the workers inside. But hundreds of panicked workers then fled, some complaining of the chaos and disorganization reigning there. To keep the factory afloat, the company offered large bonuses to the remaining employees and tried to recruit new workers.
US giant Apple, whose flagship iPhone is the iPhone, admitted in early November that the site’s lockdown had “temporarily affected” factory production, a blow ahead of the holiday sales period. . Foxconn is the largest private sector employer in China, with more than one million employees across the country in about 30 factories and research institutes.
