Apple assembler Foxconn reopened their factory in China Tuesday, after a riot by workers that highlighted tensions at the plant that labor groups said were worsened by the pressure of the launch of Apple’s new iPhone 5.
Foxconn Technology Group and police said the cause of the unrest Sunday night was under investigation, but labor activists said the rollout of the iPhone 5 has led to longer working hours and more pressure on workers. Foxconn and police said as many as 2,000 employees were involved in the brawl and 40 people were reported injured.
The iPhone 5 debuted last week in the U.S. and 8 other countries. Apple currently has a 3 to 4 week backlog of online orders. Foxconn has not given a statement as to whether the one-day suspension of production might affect the already tight supplies of the device.
News reports and witness say the violence on Sunday in Taiyuan, China resulted from a confirmation between a factory worker and a guard that escalated. One employee said the violence was fueled by worker anger over mistreatment by Foxconn security guards and managers.
“Foxconn, some supervisors, and security guards never respect us,” said the employee, who asked not to be identified by name. “We all have this anger toward them and they (the workers) wanted to destroy things to release this anger.”
Foxconn is the world’s biggest assembler of consumer electronics, with about 1.2 million workers in its factories in Taiyuan, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Zhengzhou, China. It makes iPhones and iPads for Apple, and also assembles products for Microsoft and HP, among others.
Labor activists report that the need to ramp up iPhone 5 production has increased pressure on already harried Foxconn employees.
“Because of the launch of the iPhone 5, the workload of workers suddenly surges,” said a Hong Kong group, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, in a report this month, saying some employees they spoke with said they had not had a day off in the last 30 days.
Foxconn raised minimum pay and promised to limit hours in March after an Apple-hired auditor found Foxconn employees were regualrly required to work more than 60 hours a week.
Foxconn has also received criticism in the past over the conduct of their security guards.
In 2010 Foxconn’s parent, Hon Hai, pledged that its guards would obey the law, and refrain from threats and harassment, after a video showing several guards beating workers was circulated on the Internet.
