Foxconn confirms dispute between workers at China factory
Major Apple device manufacturer says a dispute occurred between factory line workers and quality assurance personnel at a plant in China, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Foxconn, a principal maker of Apple's iPhone 5, has confirmed that two disputes between employees occurred at one of its factories in China earlier this month.
Foxconn, which is the world's largest component maker, said the disputes occurred between factory line workers and quality assurance personnel on October 1-2 at its Zhengzhou plant and that it has taken steps to address the disputes, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
"There has been no workplace stoppage in that facility or any other Foxconn facility and production has continued on schedule," The Taiwan-based company said in a statement.
The disputes apparently occurred about a week after an hours-long riot involving thousands of employees forced another Foxconn factory in China to temporarily close. A riot involving roughly 2,000 employees broke out in the late hours of August 24, possibly sparked when a guard struck a worker. About 40 individuals were taken to the hospital and an undisclosed number of individuals were arrested.
While Foxconn confirmed that incident and promised to address the causes of August riot, the company has denied reports that 3,000 to 4,000 workers at the Zhengzhou factory went on strike Friday. A human rights watchdog in China said last week that a "widespread work stoppage" has occurred as a overly strict demands on product quality workers who haven't been provided adequate training for the corresponding skills.
Foxconn, which has 1.2 million employees in China, has come under scrutiny in the past few years amid reports of employees committing suicide at company facilities. The company has also been accused of employing underage laborers, providing poor living conditions at its dormitory housing, and overworking employees.
From rocks to recycling: The life of an iPhone
• Riots, suicides, and other issues in Foxconn's iPhone factories
• 'No more iSlave:' An activist fights for iPhone workers
