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Workers protest at Foxconn plant

Workers at Chinese factory of Apple's main manufacturer threaten to jump from roof in disagreement over wages--in protest involving some 200 workers, despite landmark agreement last month improving working conditions, reports say.
Written by Ryan Huang, Contributor

Workers at a Chinese factory owned by Foxconn, Apple's main manufacturer, threatened to jump off the roof of a building in a protest over wages just a month after the two firms announced a landmark agreement on improving working conditions, and in a repeat of January incident.

According to a report over the weekend, the Times of India (TOI) said that the protest happened in the central city of Wuhan at one of Foxconn's plants. 

The news daily added that the protest involved some 200 workers, according to Hong Kong-based activist group Information Centre for Human Rights. The group said that one of their complaints was that they earned less in Wuhan than they had in their previous jobs. They returned to work after police intervened, it said.

TOI reported that a spokesman for Foxconn said that the protest concerned workplace adjustments and involved workers new to the plant, and claimed that it was not a strike.

"The dispute has already been settled after some negotiations involving the human resources and legal departments as well as the local government," said spokesperson Simon Tsing in the report.

He added that no one had actually jumped off any building.

A similar protest took place in January, when workers also threatened to jump off the building but later reached an agreement with the manufacturer.

This also comes just one month after Foxconn and Apple agreed to tackle violations of working conditions, through moves such as wage increases. That deal came nearly two years after a series of suicides, reportedly due to workplace conditions.
 

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