More than 3,000 workers at Foxconn’s production plant in Zhengzhou, China have gone on strike, affecting iPhone 5 production.
According to China Labor Watch (CLW), the strike began at 1 p.m. local time on Friday. The report claims that majority of the striking workers were from quality control involved in iPhone 5 production. The strike resulted in the several work lines being paralyzed.
“It was reported that factory management and Apple, despite design defects, raised strict quality demands on workers, including indentations standards of 0.02mm and demands related to scratches on frames and back covers. With such demands, employees could not even turn out iPhones that met the standard. This led to a tremendous amount of pressure on workers.”
Workers have also been complaining about not getting sufficient training in order to meet the company’s exacting standards when it comes to the production of the iPhone 5 and other Apple products. These grievances, in addition to being forced to work through the recent week-long holiday, pushed Foxconn workers to the breaking point. CLW executive director Li Qiang said, “This strike is a result of the fact that these workers just have too much pressure.”
The news is just the latest in the long list of worker-related issues involving Foxconn that has had the public growing increasingly concerned. 2010 saw several suicides committed by employees who were unable to cope with the company’s harsh working environment and just last month, 2,000 rioting workers forced the temporary closure of Foxconn’s Taiyuan factory.
[via CNN, China Labor Watch]