Foxconn Brazil hit by strike, could hit iPhone supply
Approximately 3,700 workers at the largest Foxconn manufacturing site in South America have gone on strike to demand the introduction of a framework for local roles and salaries.
Since the workers were contracted in 2012, their salaries remain the same.
According to the Metalworking Industries Union of the state of São Paulo, workers at the factory located in the city of Jundiaí have rejected the company's offer to present a plan with an organizational structure within two weeks and another month for the plan to be put into practice.
The strike started on September 11 and is still ongoing, with daily rallies taking place by the gates of the company, the only manufacturing plant for iPhones and iPads outside China.
"[Foxconn] needs to present a structure to workers so that when they start in the company, they will know what are the options in terms of career progression," says the head of the workers union, Evandro Santos.
"People are just stagnant here. We want workers to be recognized for the work they do and treated with respect and we don't see that happening here," Santos adds.
This is the second time in less than two years that the Brazilian staff have stopped working for the same reason — in February 2013, the demands for salary and career plans were made and deadlines given to address the problem. According to the workers union, this has never been done.