Workers strike again at Foxconn's China factory

Foxconn, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple's iPhones, confirms a workers' strike did take place at its Zhengzhou factory in China but the two-hour strike will not affect its production schedule.

According to Chinese news agency Securities Times on Monday, Foxconn spokesperson Liu Kun affirmed that 300 to 400 employees were involved in a strike last Friday but the standoff lasted only two hours, with no impact to the Zhengzhou factory's production. He added the labor unions are communicating with the protestors and the case was considered closed.

An unnamed employee told the news agency there was no violence during the strike, which was organized to protest against the company's neglect of employees' needs and the high-pressure work environment. The strike ended peacefully, the employee added.

ZDNet Asia also contacted Apple. A company spokesperson said the questions should be directed at Foxconn.

Foxconn's statement was in contrast to a report last Friday by China Labor Watch, which said the strike happened in the afternoon and involved 3,000 to 4,000 workers.

The labor rights watchdog, which had been tracking Foxconn and other Chinese factories, said Foxconn forced its employees to work during the holidays and "raised overly strict demands on product quality without providing worker training for the corresponding skills".

China Labor Watch quoted workers as saying that the factory management and Apple raised strict quality demands on workers, including rejecting phones with indentation standards of 0.02mm and making demands related to scratches on frames and back cover.

The lastest incident in the Zhengzhou factory followed after a more violent outbreak of hostilities between workers and the manufacturer. In September, a riot broke out at Foxconn's Taiyuan facilities which was said to be caused by thousands of workers fighting against Foxconn security and armed police.