Violent protests at largest iPhone factory in China

Violent protests have broken out around Foxconn’s vast iPhone factory in central China, as workers clashed with security personnel over pay and living conditions at the plant.

In videos shared with AFP or circulated on social media, hundreds of workers can be seen marching on a road and confronted by riot police as well as people wearing hazmat suits.

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn yesterday confirmed the unrest. Footage shared with AFP and captured by a factory worker showed one person lying inert on the ground next to a man in a blood-spattered jacket having his head bound in an apparent effort to staunch a wound.

Another clip shows dozens of hazmat-clad personnel wielding batons and chasing employees, one of whom is knocked to the ground before appearing to be kicked in the head. The worker who shared the videos estimated that around 20 people were injured in the clashes, some of whom were taken to hospital. He requested anonymity to protect his safety. The confrontations broke out after employees who signed an agreement with the factory to work at least 30 days in return for a onetime payment of ¥3,000 ($420) suddenly saw the figure slashed to just 30 yuan, he told AFP.

Many workers were also incensed by “chaotic” living conditions, he said, adding that he “had not received any food” from the company since Tuesday. Some Covid-negative staff had also been ordered to work alongside colleagues who once tested positive but were not quarantined, the worker said.

Foxconn said workers had complained about pay and conditions at the plant but denied it had housed new recruits with Covid-positive staff at the Zhengzhou factory, the world’s largest producer of iPhones.

“Regarding any violence, the company will continue to communicate with employees and the government to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” the firm said in a statement. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

China’s unrelenting zeroCovid policy has caused fatigue and resentment among swaths of the population, some of whom have been locked down for weeks at factories and universities or left unable to travel freely.