Workers and security staff engaged in violent protests at iPhone factory around the world. It is located in Zhengzhou, central China. With employees living under stringent Covid-19 restrictions for weeks. Employees broke through barricades early on Wednesday and rushed out of the building.
Employees at the Covid-10-affected Foxconn Technology Group plant, which produces Apple iPhones. In the early hours of Wednesday, they were herded out of dorms to confront security guards and medical personnel dressed in hazmat suits. Additionally, footage widely shared on Twitter and briefly on Chinese social media was evident.
On Wednesday, Violent Protests At iPhone Factory in China. Hundreds of Foxconn employees demonstrated outside their dorms and engaged in physical altercations with the police. Foxconn is home to the largest Apple facility in the world.
Violent Protest at Foxconn Company
The violent altercations happened at the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, central China. Where strong COVID-19 restrictions are in place due to a recent rise in infections. The unpaid wages and the spread of infection are the subjects of the protests, which reportedly began overnight.
Violent Protests At iPhone Factory in China. The massive “iPhone City” facility employs about 2 lakh people and has been running in a “closed loop” bubble.
The brawl on Wednesday was the most recent instance of anti-Covid protest in China. Where frustration over restrictions is rising even as officials fight a widespread epidemic, hurting economic recovery and delaying an end to the nation’s contentious “zero-Covid” campaign.
The southern city of Guangzhou and the southwestern city of Chongqing accounted for more than half of the country’s 29,157 infections for Tuesday, according to the national health commission’s report on Wednesday.
The Zhengzhou plant, also known as “iPhone city,” has been operating in a “closed loop” bubble for several weeks. Due to complaints that wages have not been paid on time and that employees have not been permitted to leave the facility.
According to Footage
The video showed dozens of angry and bruised workers shouting slogans, some getting into physical altercations with the plant’s security as others made their way through barriers. Some fought the security personnel using fire extinguishers. “Fight, fight!” was shouted by onlookers as crowds of people pushed over barriers.
Read more: Apple 15 series
At one point, dozens approached a police car in motion and started to rock it while yelling wildly. Violent Protests At iPhone Factory in China, according to a report released by Bloomberg on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Chinese riot police were stationed everywhere around the plant. The extended films and still images that made up the footage couldn’t be independently authenticated.
Stats of Employees Agreement Signed out
One employee is thrown to the ground and then appears to be kicked in the head in another video that depicts dozens of hazmat-clad security guards racing after the workers while brandishing batons.
Around 20 people, some of whom were transported to the hospital. According to the worker who uploaded the videos, they were said to have been hurt in the skirmishes. He asked for privacy to ensure his safety.
According to him, the disputes started when workers had signed contracts with the business. They were promising to labor for at least 30 days in exchange for a one-time payment of 3,000 yuan ($420) unexpectedly discovered that the sum had been reduced to just 30 yuan.
Infection Hits New Peak
Fearing a widespread internal illness, employees fought their way out of the facility earlier this month. While many of them trekked for miles to go to their homes in the province.
Infections peaked at 1,486 on Tuesday in Beijing, where many schools, companies, and malls have been closed. Access to and from the city has also been limited.
Beijing will reportedly intensify its Covid-19 control measures starting on Thursday by requiring citizens to have a 48-hour Covid test result that is negative to visit public areas.
He continued by stating that he “had not gotten any food” from the business. Since Tuesday and many workers were outraged by the “chaotic” living circumstances.
The employee claimed that some Covid-negative employees had been required to work among former Covid-positive coworkers who had not been placed in quarantine.
However, Foxconn denied housing new hires with Covid-positive staff at the Zhengzhou factory. The world’s largest producer of iPhones, where workers had complained about pay and working conditions.
According to a statement from the business, “regarding any violence, the company will continue to interact with employees. Additionally, the authorities to prevent similar occurrences from happening again.”
China’s Newspaper Stated:
Before accessing government offices, office buildings, supermarkets, and other public locations. Additionally, before boarding buses and utilizing the subway, everyone must present negative findings from nucleic acid tests done within 48 hours, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper.
The study said that “the city’s control and preventive work is currently at the most crucial stage”. Since “the current virus variety is exceedingly contagious and easily camouflaged.”
Violent Protests At iPhone Factory in China. With active cases and primary contacts, there are more than 1,000 “high-risk” zones in Beijing, with more than 21 million people.
Response Requests from Apple Were Not Answered.
Many people in China have grown weary and resentful due to the country’s strict zero-Covid policy; some have spent weeks imprisoned at companies and universities or unable to leave their homes.
Other social media videos later authenticated by AFP showed a man with a bloody face while someone off-camera said: “They are constantly striking people. Do they possess morals?”
Another image from the same scene showed numerous workers shouting at a line of police officers, “Maintain our rights! One voice shouts, “Defend our rights!” as another mentions “smoke bombs” and “tear gas.”
Taking steps to avoid a repeat of the occurrence
The business rejected housing new hires with Covid-positive employees at the factory, despite Foxconn’s claims that the workers had complained about wages and working conditions at the facility.
The Taiwanese electronics firm issued a statement saying, “Regarding any violence, the company will continue to speak with employees and the government to avoid similar occurrences from happening again.”
